Farmers Feeding Families RFP
We seek to identify community programs and services that increase access to food and combat food insecurity in Shelby County. Our goal is to ensure that individuals are able to live healthy lives free from hunger and its associated health issues and move more freely toward self-sufficiency with this barrier removed.
“I chose for our school to partner with the Ready for K Alliance so that we are able
to better meet the needs of our incoming kindergarten students and their families,”
said Stephanie White, Principal at King Elementary.
When a child starts school, Metro United Way knows it can be both scary and exciting for both the child and the parent. But children who experience a successful transition to kindergarten are more likely to be engaged in the classroom, have fewer behavioral problems and can more easily focus on academic expectations. The Ready for K Alliance is a collaborative of more than 100 partners and organizations united by their aspiration that children enter kindergarten prepared to succeed. Their focus is to provide a seamless system of support for children ages birth to 5, via evidence-based best practices in the areas of access, quality, engagement and transitioning into kindergarten.
Transitioning to kindergarten can be complex. Children and families experience a significant change in routines, rules and atmosphere. But the transition to formal school sets the tone and direction of a child’s school career and can even be a turning point in a child’s life. There are many important drivers of readiness that include families, communities and school.
There are currently 8 elementary schools partnering with the Ready for K Alliance that are committed to improving kindergarten readiness rates, build new partnerships to improve outcomes and recognize parental engagement as a critical factor in a child’s success in school. One of these is King Elementary named after Civil Rights Activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., located in the Shawnee neighborhood in West Louisville. Their mission is to provide rigorous, engaging instruction and remove barriers to learning so students believe in their own ability to achieve success.
“It is our goal to build strong partnerships with our families and the community we serve. There are not many businesses in our area, so working with Metro United Way and various partners, enables us to increase our impact on family awareness and student learning,” said Stephanie White, Principal at King Elementary.
Metro United Way is excited to lead the Ready for K Alliance efforts with a network of schools to achieve our goal to ensure our children are prepared to enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life.