Policy Connection
Wheelock In Action
During the past year, Boston’s 65-member School Readiness Action Planning Team (“the APT”), co-chaired by President Jenkins-Scott and Children’s Hospital Chief Operating Officer Sandra Fenwick, met regularly to develop a Birth to Five School Readiness Initiative. Led, by the City of Boston and United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and the APT’s work was informed by a diverse group of 35 parents, grandparents, and guardians from all Boston neighborhoods, called “the Parents APT.” Together they brought into the process an additional 300 Boston leaders and residents and funders through focus groups and meetings.
On March 12, Boston’s Mayor Thomas M. Menino and United Way President Michael Durkin announced a new initiative that has resulted from the yearlong collaboration. Thrive in Five is a public-private partnership to prevent the achievement gap in the next generation of students by promoting their school readiness and healthy development. It is a 10-year effort that for the first time aligns families, educators, health care and human service providers, the private sector, and city departments—working in collaboration with state agencies—to ensure that all of Boston’s children will be ready for school entry and sustained school success.
Joined by over 250 parents and Boston leaders for the announcement at the Boston Children’s Museum, Mayor Menino, and Mr. Durkin highlighted the simple yet profound equation that underscores Boston’s school readiness roadmap.
“We have an ethical obligation—informed by science and economics—to focus on our children’s earliest years and provide them and their parents with the tools they need to achieve,” Mayor Menino said. “My administration is already aligning the work of city departments to implement this plan, and I am pleased to announce $3.25 million in commitments from public and private funders to support Thrive in Five.”
The City of Boston has committed $750,000 to Thrive in Five, and United Way has pledged an additional $1.3 million. Three lead partners in the effort—Children’s Hospital Boston; Partners HealthCare and its founding hospitals, Brigham and Women’s and Mass. General Hospital; and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation—have committed another $1.2 million over the next three years.
Thrive in Five is not a new initiative, but a new citywide approach, a collaborative plan to ensure universal school readiness, building on the many superb initiatives, organizations, and agencies that serve Boston’s children and families. “This is a community effort. Families, government, health care, nonprofits, the business sector—we all win when a child is ready to succeed in school and life,” said Durkin. “To sustain the kind of long-lasting change that Thrive in Five lays out requires that we work together. Because together, we can accomplish more than any single organization—public or private—can alone.”
Dr. Jack Shonkoff, of Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, highlighted the importance of early childhood investment: “When communities support the health and development of young children, everyone benefits.” The Center has compiled extensive research that reveals the scientific, economic, and moral imperative of focusing on the early years.
To manage the entire Thrive in Five effort, in addition to a newly forming leadership board, a small staff will be housed at United Way. Each of the five parts of Boston’s School Readiness Equation (Ready Families + Ready Educators + Ready Systems + Ready City = Children Ready for Sustained School Success) will have implementation teams convening throughout 2008. Watch the Thrive in Five website for opportunities to join these citywide teams. Positions are being posted on the Web site www.Thrivein5Boston.org.
