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Impact By Strategy (Big Bets):

Early Literacy

Low-income children experience word gap compared to peers translating to an achievement gap. According to the U.S. Department of Education, up to 61% of low-income families do not have any books for their kids at home.

  1. Read It Again (EDS1-D) Provide culturally appropriate, evidence-based B-K reading strategies for teachers and families for low- or no-cost to all providers. Low-income children experience word gap compared to peers translating to an achievement gap. Book Access: According to the U.S. Department of Education, up to 61% of low-income families do not have any books for their kids at home. https://crane.osu.edu/our-work/read-it-again/

Update: Through a partnership between FRC and the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy, Read It Again training officially launched in December 2022. For more information, visit https://readitagain.osu.edu. If you are a licensed child care provider interested in participation please reach out to Megan Hamilton at Megan.Hamilton@futurereadyfive.org.

  1. At-home Toolkits (EDS1-E) Widely disseminate a culturally appropriate, age-appropriate, at-home toolkit that follows an early childhood development curriculum to support parents, guardians, and families.

Update: 4,500 toolkits were distributed in the community in 2022. Toolkits are in production for 2023. If you are interested in distributing toolkits at your location, please reach out to Megan Hamilton at Megan.Hamilton@futurereadyfive.org.

Family Stabilization

Roughly 26 percent of children in the United States witness or experience a trauma before the age of 4. In 2015, an estimated 683,000 children were victims of child abuse and neglect.

  1. Building Better Lives (HBH3-A) https://bit.ly/3qinV0d
  2. Conscious Discipline (HBH3-A) https://consciousdiscipline.com/

Update: We are continuing to evaluate how to expand BBL with our Family and Children First Council partner for families in our geographic area (Whitehall and Linden) and are scheduling Conscious Discipline trainings for 2023 for Franklin County early childhood professionals.

Public Awareness

Community-based early care and education, delivered at scale, can provide lasting impacts, and may serve as a catalyst for children’s success later in life. Children from low-income backgrounds who had access to 24 months or more of high-quality early childhood education in their first five years were more likely to graduate from college and had higher salaries at age 26. 36% of low-income children have visited a library prior to Kindergarten compared to 66% of the higher income peers. Through our own focus groups with families in Franklin County, FRC learned that parents rate K Readiness as important but do not understand what readiness looks like.

  1. Community Spaces (FC2-C): Develop and implement the community spaces educational program (i.e., grocery store, library, COTA, barber shop/hair salon).

Update: Through the leadership of the Columbus Metropolitan Library and the partnership of Future Ready Five, FR5 is proud to launch the first FR5 campaign, Talk, Read, Sing Play; Make the moments count.  This campaign will be leveraged to provide tips and literacy information to families across the Franklin County community.

Community Outreach

  1. COSI (EDS1-F) Increase access to museums to support development in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. (STEAM)

Update: FR5 held multiple community days in 2022 focused on engaging with new families.  Through these events, FR5 connected with more than 440 people, 147 families of which more than 200 were children under 5.  In 2023, passes and COSI kits will be purchased and utilized as incentives and grassroot initiatives to continue to meet our families where they are.

  1. Public Awareness/Bright By Text (FC2-B, EDS1-B, & INF2-A): Create and launch a multi-faceted, multi-lingual, culturally appropriate, public education, awareness, and outreach campaign with specific messages for target audiences using trusted messages and delivery tactics. Launch and support a texting and social-media based parent education campaign (Bright by Text).

Update: We continue to work with community partners to expand our reach through Bright By Text through social media, at-home toolkits and community events. Although our numbers are climbing we continue to work to increase our connections. Remember, we understand that kids don’t come with instructions. That’s why Bright by Text sends the info you need most for raising little ones, from pregnancy through age 8.

Text FutureReady to 274448 to start receiving free text messages with easy, practical tips and activities right to your cell phone.

We only ask for your child’s birth date and zip code. That way, you’ll get messages timed to their exact age and information about local events and resources.