Dear Early Childhood Education Provider or Supporter,
We are writing to provide you the attached executive summary of the Greater Kansas City Early Care and Education Study: Jackson County, Missouri. This report collected data from early childhood education programs within Jackson County to provide districts, schools, centers, funders, and supporters an opportunity to understand who is accessing services, what services are being accessed, and information about who is providing those services. A link to the full report is available at www.growyourgiving.org/early-ed.
Highlights from the report are included in the Executive Summary, with more detailed information and reporting tools included in the full report. We hope this information informs the efforts underway in Kansas City to ensure as many children as possible enter kindergarten with the skills, information, and preparation ensuring they are ready to learn.
The survey and analysis were conducted by The Family Conservancy, The Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, and the Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia. This work was supported financially by the Early Education Funders Collaborative – a group of ten foundations working together to make the best possible investments in Kansas City’s early childhood education services to students and families. Collaborative partners include George K. Baum Family Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Francis Family Foundation, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Hall Family Foundation, The H & R Block Foundation, Hispanic Development Fund, William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, United Way of Greater Kansas City, and Stanley H. Durwood Foundation.
The Early Education Funders Collaborative plans to support a second phase of this analysis focused on Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas. Anticipated work on that project is expected to begin in 2016.
Thank you for your work on behalf of Kansas City’s youngest students.
Sincerely,
The Members of the Early Education Funders Collaborative