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About Us

In 2004, a committee of business and civic leaders examined how The Norfolk Foundation could effectively help the South Hampton Roads community to ensure that all children arrive at kindergarten ready for school. The result was Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads.

Our Achievements:

  • 78 Centers participating in the Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) with over 8,000 children impacted.
  • Provided early childhood teacher scholarships to 156 early education teachers.
  • Awarded $27,500 to The Planning Council to sponsor quality improvement in 10 family child care homes.
  • Four out of the five communities have received $500,000 in early learning challenge grants and are implementing their Collaborative Action Plans to address each community’s needs and to incubate innovative solutions for children birth to five.
  • Created Faithful Beginnings Interfaith Alliance which partners with nearly 70 faith-based congregations and pre-schools to increase awareness, empower parents and advocate for greater public investment in children birth to five.
  • Published 99 articles and opinion pieces to date promoting the issue of early education.
  • Linked parents with community resources by distributing over 40,000 Community Connections Resource Guides.
  • Created the Is Your Child Ready? regional Kindergarten Checklist for parents as a resource to help their children be ready for school.
  • Launched the Smart Beginnings Early Childhood Business Council made up of over 50 influential business leaders willing to support a kids-first policy agenda at the federal, state and local levels.

Our Major Supporters:
As a public-private partnership, we rely on support from business donors, foundations and government to help us achieve our mission. We are grateful for the commitment and generosity of the following sponsors:

Allison J. and Ella W. Parsons Fund of the Hampton Roads Community
A Better World Foundation Challenge Grant
Bayshore Enterprises
Birdsong Peanut Company
Community Fund for Educational Achievement of the Hampton Roads Community Foudation
Cox Communications
Davis & Company
Sun Trust Foundation
The Batten Educational Achievement Fund of The Norfolk Foundation
The Hampton Roads Community Foundation
The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation
The Virginian-Pilot
Town Bank
Virginia Department of Social Services
Willcox & Savage, P.C.

 

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Did You Know?

Did You KnowDid You Know
  • 90% of a child’s brain is developed by the age of 5.
  • 78% of parents of children under 6 in South Hampton Roads work outside the home, and must find care for thier children.
  • 1 in 8 children in our region arrives at kindergarten not ready.
  • Children who start school behind tend to stay behind.
  • Nationally, 49% of children arriving at school unprepared come from middle and upper income families.
  • 18% of kindergartners held back in Virginia live in South Hampton Roads.
  • Holding back a child in kindergarten adds almost $8,000 to the public cost of that child’s education.
  • 3rd grade reading level is a powerful predictor: for those who fail the 3rd grade reading test, half will also fail the 5th grade.
  • In fact, 62% of Virginia’s students cannot read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade.
  • A working, middle class family, with two young children, will spend on average 29% of their income on child care.


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