Education
EDUCATION
Education is the cornerstone of individual and community success. It’s essential to getting and keeping a job with a livable wage and health benefits. And it’s fundamental to a community’s economic prosperity: a well-educated workforce attracts world-class jobs.
Nearly two thirds of all entry-level jobs across the country require some education beyond high school. By 2013, more than 80% of 23 million new jobs will require some post-secondary education.
PROBLEM: Parents with limited incomes are unable to afford the educational supports that all children need to be prepared cognitively, academically and socially to grow into self-sufficient adults.
SOLUTION: By providing children with a safe environment to develop, support to stay in school and role models to develop life skills, United Way gives children the support they need to be prepared for and stay in school.
How United Way is helping children and youth in the DuPage area get educational support:
• Children’s advocacy and foster care programs
• Daycare and early childhood education
• Parenting support and courses
• Early education and school preparedness programs
• Tutoring
• Mentoring
• Peer mentoring opportunities
• After-school and weekend activities
Every year, more than 1 million students fail to get their diplomas on time.
We can change that – if we work together. United Way is working to cut in half the number of high school dropouts in the next 10 years. It’s central to our mission to improve education. It’s a big job. We have to start long before school does. And we must:
- Increase the number of children entering school on track with literacy, social, emotional and intellectual skills.
- Boost the number of fourth-graders reading at grade level.
- Help more young adults transition from school to work, whether that’s college, training or a job.
Learn about United Way’s 10 Year Goals for Education
