education

A world class region invests in the present with an eye toward the future. World Class Greater Philadelphia asks what the region's business, nonprofit, and government leaders need to focus on to ensure that we're ready for both the opportunities and the challenges that the future will bring. It's the civic version of what the world's smartest organizations do everyday: imagining potential futures and preparing to come out on top no matter what forces and events occur.

Over the past year, the Economy League and its partners have convened cross-sector teams to develop frameworks for our region in three key areas: Education and Talent Development, Business Growth, and Infrastructure. We'll reveal the Business Growth and Education & Talent Development strategies and announce exciting new initiatives.

$200,000 will support kindergarten readiness and advance World Class Greater Philadelphia education & talent strategy
The Roadmaps to Health Community Grant, one of 18 awarded in the US, will support a two-year action plan to identify shared standards for early childhood education quality and kindergarten readiness assessments in Pennsylvania. The Economy League and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey are joined by the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, William Penn Foundation, and PNC.

As part of its efforts to increase public safety, reduce recidivism, and decrease public spending on criminal justice functions, the City of Philadelphia has joined a growing number of local and state governments focused on connecting formerly incarcerated individuals with employment. The rationale - backed by an emerging research literature - is that former inmates are less likely to commit crimes causing them to return to prison if they become gainfully employed. In addition to the social benefits to be derived from reduced crime, there are significant positive economic impacts associated with employing the formerly incarcerated, including increased earnings for former inmates, increased tax revenues from employment, and avoided costs in the form of spending on criminal justice agencies.