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Success by 6: program for early education

by Chris West
Public Relations
In regards to a child being prepared for school, the secret to success begins far earlier than age 6. 

“Success by 6” is a community initiative driven to promote access to early childhood development programs to all tricounty area children.

A 1998 communitywide needs assessment of the tricounty area revealed that almost 20 percent of children entering the first grade were not prepared to enter school, or deemed “not ready to learn.” The result was either caused by a lack of exposure to developmental programs or that exposure began too late.

It is known that 90 percent of a child’s brain has developed before the age of 3. And with formal education beginning at age six, the disparity is clear. Even with entering kindergarten at age 5, this still leaves two years of time unaccounted for in the development of school-readiness.

Factors within the home attribute to the success or failure of a child’s development. Prenatal care, income, parental education levels and even nutrition play a valuable role in preparation for a formal education. In households where these elements do not promote development, disparities among these students and their peers often leave them “playing catch-up.”

The needs assessment also uncovered that 11 percent of all children either fail first, second or third grade. And perhaps most devastating, 30 percent of all children fail to graduate from high school.

In lieu of the disturbing numbers, the Trident United Way made support of early childhood development a top priority and began to set up funding. During the summer of 1999, MUSC’s own Charles Darby Jr., M.D. and pediatrician-in-chief, MUSC Children's Hospital, was recruited to chair a leadership committee for the local initiative. Now “Success by 6,” a collaboration between public and private sectors, is dedicated to improving access to developmental factors for all children of the Tri-county area in an effort to ready children to receive the most from their formal education.

For more information on “Success by 6” or to make a donation, check the Trident United Way’s Web site at <http://www.tuw.com>. Employees can also access the Trident United Way Campaign pledge form at <http://www.musc.edu/catalyst/tuw.htm>. For information, call 792-1973.