Making an Impact: Standardizing Kindergarten Readiness Assessment in PA

In partnership with the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children and the Public Health Management Corporation, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey and the Economy League have received a highly competitive $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, along with additional support from the William Penn and PNC Bank Foundations, to implement a two-year campaign to standardize kindergarten readiness assessments in Pennsylvania. 

Successfully implementing standardized kindergarten readiness assessments will require building a broad base of support and increasing awareness and demand for high-quality early learning among parents. Thus, the coalition will convene a leadership team of 30-40 cross-sector leaders to devise a strategy to accelerate the adoption of uniform kindergarten readiness assessments across the region and statewide. Once the leadership team has developed a strategy and campaign with messaging in place, United Way will lead coalition partners in direct outreach to business and civic leadership, school superintendents and board members, state agency and elected officials as well as parents in high-need communities.