We want children to thrive in kindergarten and beyond. That means listening to families and rallying partners to remove biases and structural barriers that stand in their way. We focus our investments in three areas: kindergarten readiness, family stability, and system alignment. 

Kindergarten Readiness

We connect families to schools early and often, easing the transition to kindergarten so children have every chance to succeed.

Kindergarten teachers visit with families in their homes at the start of the school year.
Nine high-priority SUN schools hired family engagement coordinators to build strong school and family partnerships that support success in kindergarten and early grades.
We bring together information on reduced-cost preschools in a one-stop webpage.
We create more, high-quality preschool options with culturally relevant providers

Stable Families

We reach families where they are, equipping them with tools to provide stable, healthy environments for their growing children.

Trained local parents in N/NE Portland and East County equip hard-to-reach families with school readiness skills in culturally appropriate ways.
We co-create and distribute literacy kits to promote culturally specific ways of reading, talking and playing with young children to foster healthy development.
Parent educators coach hundreds of families in positive parenting, healthy child development and access to services.
We co-create and distribute STEM kits to promote culturally specific ways of engaging in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math with young children to foster early development.

Aligned Early Learning Services

We create efficiencies, share insights, and focus investments—all to get better results for children and strengthen the support network for families.

We improve the family experience by addressing gaps in the system.