Action Profile

Equity Forsyth

EquityForsyth is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to the work of learning, teaching, and doing more to advance racial equity, justice, and educational equity in Forsyth County.

In 2020, the coalition focused primarily on drawing community attention and support to the equity issues facing students that were exasperated by the COVID-19 pandemic; the issues of access, opportunity, and engagement policies and practices for communities of color and/or low wealth have never been more apparent.

In addressing these glaring equity issues, EquityForsyth partners have joined in a movement to push WS/FCS to adopt and implement the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child policy for holistic and culturally responsive policy and practices as an expansion of Action4Equity’s grassroots public policy work; EquityForsyth has also partnered with local organizations providing remote learning and tutoring locations to the most vulnerable learners. EquityForsyth is also committed to providing popular education opportunities to the community about forward facing equity issues, community resources, and engagement opportunities through coalition networks and convening organizations.

Action Profile

Great Expectations

Great Expectations, a special initiative of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, works to ensure that all children in Forsyth County enter kindergarten ready to learn and leave set for success—regardless of their race, location, or economic status.

About Great Expectations

The Trust invests in equitable opportunities to improve educational and health outcomes for all young children and their families in Forsyth County, through its Great Expectations initiative. Research shows that every dollar spent on early childhood initiatives provides over eight dollars in benefits back to society, and there’s much work that remains to be done in the region.

Equity, especially racial equity, is at the center of the work of the Trust, partnering with the community in Forsyth County to improve educational and health outcomes for all young children and their families. The Trust focuses its grantmaking on outcomes rather than issues, because it believes this is the most effective way to achieve long-term, sustainable change.

The Trust’s grantmaking strategy for Great Expectations focuses on achieving equitable outcomes in the following areas:

Early intervention and health. When families have access to quality health services, it improves birth outcomes and sets children up to learn and thrive. The Trust supports evidence-based home visiting programs; works to improve access to care and resources; and supports parents, caregivers, and teachers to identify children’s behavioral health needs.

Access to quality childcare and early learning. Early experiences and environment can have a lasting impact on brain development, setting children up for later success in school and life. The Trust supports access to universal pre-K for all children. It also supports quality, bias-free childcare at licensed centers and in the home.

Family support. To help young children in Forsyth County thrive, the Trust works to help families thrive. That’s why the Trust supports grantees who are developing solutions to advance economic opportunities and mobility for people with low incomes.

Recent grantees include: The Pre-K Priority coalition/Family Services Inc.; Work Family Resource Center, Inc.; The Forsyth Promise and Partnership for Prosperity /United Way of Forsyth County, Inc.; Forsyth Technical Community College; The Asset Building Coalition; Kellin Foundation; Imprints Cares; and many more.

Action Profile

The Pre-K Priority

The Pre-K Priority (PKP) was created in June 2014 by a group of early learning professionals for the purpose of making high-quality Pre-K programs available to all four-year-old children in Forsyth County.

What is The Pre-K Priority?

In any given year, only one-third of the county’s 4,500 four-year-olds are enrolled in a publicly-funded Pre-K program. Improving quality is an issue: none of the Pre-K programs in the county meet all the quality standards established by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). PKP has published several reports — available at www.prekpriority.org — with recommendations for establishing an equitable, accessible, and affordable high-quality Pre-K system in Forsyth County.

The percent of kindergartners at risk of not learning to read has significantly increased over the past several years, rising from 42% at risk in 2013 to 51% in 2018. Significant disparities exist across racial/ethnic groups in regard both to reading readiness and third grade reading.  High-quality Pre-K is an effective means of closing these gaps and preparing all children to succeed in school.

In the fall of 2020, PKP mounted a campaign calling upon local elected officials to establish an Early Childhood Education Task Force to develop a plan to expand high-quality Pre-K in Forsyth County. Over 1,500 individuals signed pledges of support for Pre-K expansion. Sixty organizations, including the area’s two largest healthcare systems, four colleges/universities, business leaders, human services and early learning organizations, faith groups, and grassroots organizations signed a Declaration of Support urging local elected officials to establish the Task Force.

In February 2021 the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution establishing the Early Childhood Education Task Force.  The Task Force will begin meeting in early May 2021 and deliver a plan to the County Commissioners in early 2022.  PKP will serve as a primary source of expertise for the Task Force.

The Pre-K Priority is also focusing on reforming the North Carolina Pre-K Program (NC Pre-K) and the method by which the reimbursement (market) rate for the childcare subsidy is determined. Current practices have resulted in gross disparities among counties across the state. For example, only 27% of eligible children in Forsyth County are enrolled in NC Pre-K versus 67% in Guilford County. The market rate for the childcare subsidy is 50% higher in Guilford County than in Forsyth County. PKP will be working with statewide advocacy groups to address these inequities.