Group launches strategy to get kids Kindergarten-ready

Doubling the number of kids prepared for Kindergarten. It’s the goal of an effort launched Tuesday.

Bright Beginnings Early Childhood Development Initiative is the group behind the effort.

They say right now only one in four local children are ready for kindergarten.

It’s the start of an academic career but early childhood experts say kindergarten can also set the pace for children’s future.

“We look at the age of five starting kindergarten because it’s such a critical moment in children’s development,” said Megan Kennedy-Chouane, senior manager with Bright Beginnings.

“Early childhood education is so critical to allowing kids to get a start in the K-12 system,” Dr. Hector Rico, superintendent with the Alisal Union School District said.

But many Monterey County School Districts struggle with funding for pre-K programs.

Right now, only 25% of Monterey County kids are ready for Kindergarten.

“We know children that start off behind in kindergarten have so much to overcome that it’s often difficult to catch up,” Kennedy-Chouane said.

Even parents who do try to get their kids prepared, run into challenges.

“I started looking for a pre-school facility,” said Sofia Garza, mother of a now 6 -year old daughter, “I found out I didn’t qualify. One of the main requisites was to be a field worker or to pay like a private school and it was really expensive.”

That’s why Bright Beginnings, co-founded by the county health department, teamed up with local leaders, businesses and non-profits to make county-wide changes.

“We’re launching a campaign for a universal pre-school. That would mean every single child in the city of Salinas, regardless of their family background or socioeconomic status, would be able to go to pre-school, it would be just like kindergarten,” Kennedy-Chouane said.

Just one step in a major process to get more kids ready for school and ready for life.

“Our goal is to double that number within the next seven years,” Kennedy-Chouane said.

Bright Beginnings is also looking at ways to create a fund for early child development in the county and local cities.

For more information on the entire strategy, click here.