Education

Education is critical to a community's success. United Way invests in efforts that prepare kids to graduate and succeed, such as academically rich afterschool, summer and mentoring programs that help 10,300 students in a year.

Give kids the skills to succeed in education, and you not only enable them to have more stable, rewarding futures — you also create a brighter future for their children and grandchildren. That's why United Way supports the United 2020 community goal of preparing 60 percent of high school graduates to succeed in education after high school.

To boost student achievement, United Way focuses on the strategies that local education experts say are the keys to long-term student success:

Readying young kids for kindergarten. For example, United Way advocates successfully lobbied the Texas Legislature to triple the training requirements for childcare providers, which will enable them to better prepare children to succeed.
Providing support out of school from parents and mentors, and in afterschool and summer programs. One key United Way effort is recruiting hundreds of volunteers to read to, tutor and mentor North Texas students.
Enhance academic achievement through English language, math and science, and college and career preparation. For instance, Destination: Graduation is improving graduation rates as much as 14 percent at local high schools.