Goal:
So that every child can begin kindergarten ready to succeed, fully accessible, high-quality early childhood education shall be available to every 4-year-old in Kalamazoo County.
Kalamazoo County Ready 4s is an early care and education system proposed by the Kalamazoo County Committee for Early Childhood Education. The committee’s work was prompted by the Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy and Action in the Community (ISAAC) in fall 2008.
The proposed system is based on evidence that high-quality early education and care produces life-changing outcomes for children, savings for their communities and economic development for their region.
Leaders of the initiative include preschool and child care providers, local foundations, school superintendents, educators, researchers, parents and members of the business community.
Funding for Kalamazoo County Ready 4s comes from sliding scale tuition paid by participating families and grants from the following organizations:
- Dorothy U. Dalton Foundation
- John E. Fetzer Institute Fund
- Irving S. Gilmore Foundation
- Greater Kalamazoo United Way
- Kalamazoo Community Foundation
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation, through the Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo
- PNC Bank
- Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation