United Way of Lancaster County (UWLANC) has established a Bold Goal for our community that 100% of children will enter kindergarten ready to learn. Years of longitudinal research show us that children who attend high quality early care and education are likely to achieve that kindergarten readiness milestone and leverage that success for years to come. Increasing access to state-funded quality Pre-K is a critical component to our overall school readiness goal.

Through funding Collective Impact Partnerships focused on school readiness, UWLANC is engaging cross-sector partnerships across Lancaster County to systematically tackle this complex social problem. Examples include SAIL (Systems Aligned in Learning), which is working to increase the quality of home-based childcare providers through a mobile support system that encompasses health, nutrition, social-emotional skills, literacy, curriculum, and professional mentorship; and Plant the Seed of Learning which brings together school district teachers, early childhood educators, and maternal health practitioners to teach and engage parents of children ages birth to two through recurrent workshops supporting healthy brain development through meaningful play.

On March 27, the Pre-K for Campaign held a community roundtable at a UWLANC Collective Impact Partnership's community center. The Together Initiative Network (TIN) uses United Way funding to offer person-centered strategies and a breadth of health, social, and educational services, including high quality Pre-K, to empower individuals and families struggling with poverty in eastern Lancaster County. The Pre-K for Pa event was a wonderful way for stakeholders to thank Rep. Bryan Cutler for his support of the governor's 2017-18 budget which allowed an additional 45 children to be served in Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs in the Pequea Valley School District (PVSD) area.

This gathering of more than 35 stakeholders, which included Congressman Lloyd Smucker, District Attorney Craig Stedman, and PVSD superintendent Erik Orndorff, was also the perfect opportunity to highlight the innovative ways in which this UWLANC Collective Impact Partnership has leveraged local, state and federal early childhood funding to wrap holistic supports around children and their families. Examples include Head Start home visitors implementing the evidenced-based Parents as Teachers (PAT) curriculum with Head Start parents, PVSD creating an early literacy home-visiting liaison position (whose salary is paid for by a local faith-based congregation) who can triage parents to the PAT program (newly housed within TIN's community center), and directing UWLANC grant dollars to create a high-quality Pre-K classroom complementing existing Pre-K counts and head start classrooms (removing 20 children off the waiting list). 

United Way of Lancaster County and their Collective Impact Partnerships, like the Together Initiative Network, understand that early childhood initiatives, like high quality Pre-K, are an essential to piece of a healthy community. Intentional and creative collaboration make this work meaningful, contextual, effective, and sustainable.