The Education Committee is one of the five committees created as a result of the Community Needs Assessment. Co=chairs Dawn Doherty-Kohl and Jackie Crego identified five goals supporting education from preschool through adult learning we should focused on:
- Support literacy by promoting the fundamentals of reading and writing.
- Train parents as the first teachers of their children.
- Equip parents with the tools and resources to support learning from birth.
- Support, prepare and encourage children to succeed academically, socially and emotionally.
- Support adults in their educational goals to open new life opportunities, e.g. adult literacy, language learning, and GED attainment.
Fortunately their research identified strong programs focused on one or more of these goals. The two they feel we should focus on first are:
- Maternal and Child Health Consortium's Kindergarten Transition program. This program familiarizes children who have not attended preschool with the basic school day structure and new experiences, such as riding a bus, so they are able to focus and learn when school starts. They recommend we invest $3,000 into the program.
- The second program they feel we should invest in is expanding the Maternal and Child Health Consortium's program teaching parents how to parent and teach their own kids. This would require $10,000, so they see this as a District Grant opportunity.
There are also many opportunities for us to volunteer time. Some of these we already are supporting, such as Rotary Readers. Others are newer programs such as the Kindergarten Transition program, installing pop-up libraries with Arts Holding Hands and Hearts, or working as an instructor in adult literacy programs.