United Way seeks to ensure all people across Southeastern Michigan have the educational and economic opportunities needed to succeed and thrive. To do this, it has launched the Agenda for Change, which focuses on the three building blocks everyone needs for a good life: Education, Income and Basic Needs.

The facts

• Kids learn to read by grade three and read to learn the rest of the way
• Last year approximately 7,000 children in SE Michigan were reading below their grade level in 3rd grade. Most will drop out and only 2 percent will ever earn a four-year college degree
• Every $1 invested in early childhood education saves $17 in costs incurred as they falter later in life

Preparing Children to Succeed
We all win when our children stay in school, graduate, find work and build lives. When our children aren’t prepared and supported they drop out, lack the skills to keep a good, steady job, and many turn to substance abuse or crime. Everyone in and around their community pays a hefty price as a result. We will change these disturbing trends by ensuring:

• Children enter school ready to learn
• Students consistently read at grade level
• Youth stay in school

Partnership
Along with its One D partners, United Way is working with school districts, nonprofits, government, foundations, and business to implement nationally proven best practices that improve student achievement and graduation rates.

In its inaugural year, Operation ABC™ is working with more than 30 elementary schools across the region to have hundreds of volunteer tutors work in their classrooms to help first and second graders read at grade level by third grade.

United Way provides the resources families need to help area youth with chronic truancy issues through the Virgil H. Carr School Attendance Initiative. During the 2007-2008 school year, United Way reached 430 students with individual support and 355 of them showed improved attendance.

Over 140 area families received literacy training in their homes as part of the Women’s Initiative Early Literacy Program. The rate of developmental delays among the participating children has dropped more than 9 percent. In addition, the preschoolers were increased letter recognition by 56 percent and language awareness by 77 percent. Evaluation also shows that they increased their interest in reading and writing overall and literacy rates among the parents also increased as a result of the program.