Future Ready Five

It was such an honor to be invited by Bartha to attend the Columbus Urban League Empowerment Day yesterday, where they recognized Bishop Timothy J. Clarke with the Nationwide Social Justice Award as well as JPMorganChase with the Honda Empowerment Day Award! We are so fortunate to have Timothy J. Clarke as a member of our Board, and have witnessed firsthand the positive impact he has on our community!

Early childhood educators in Columbus: Please share with parents of 3-year-olds in your programs that Ohio State is investigating screen use and language development in young children, and their 3-year-old could be part of our study, helping to advance understanding in this critical area. Time commitment involves only a few visits scheduled at the family’s convenience, and the family will receive gift cards and children’s books as a thank-you. Visit go.osu.edu/PLUM to learn more.

Last night may have been our best ECE Award Ceremony yet! Congratulations again to our 2024 award winners, Carla Kossoudji, Khrysti Mitchell, Jenna Ketch, and Paula Bester 🎉 We're so thankful to each of our sponsors, volunteers, media partners, and donors for making it such a wonderful night. If you attended the event, don't forget to scan the QR code on the back of your program to donate to AFC! You can also click here to make a donation: bit.ly/3BIZeTO Photo credit: Cassandra Swiatek Event Manager: LW Events Catering: Milo's Catering Set Design & Graphic Design: Grace K Designs, 2Shea Creative Event Marketing: Hunter Marketing Videography: Frankart Film, Hunter Marketing Florist: Petals that Inspire, LLC MC: Rachel Ramsey of WCMH-TV, NBC4, nbc4i.com Special Shoutout to our event sponsors: Gold Sponsors: GBQ Partners,Nationwide Children's Hospital Silver Sponsors: Ice Miller LLP, PNC, White Castle Bronze Sponsors: Huntington National Bank, United Way of Central Ohio In-Kind Sponsors: Rainbow Mulch, Donatos Pizza

Today, we are excited to shine a spotlight on the work of another one of our Impact Champions, Future Ready Five. Future Ready Five is a pioneering initiative in Central Ohio, focused on enhancing early childhood education. Partnering with SureImpact, Future Ready Five implements early childhood learning screeners in preschools to drive targeted interventions and track improvements in children’s readiness for kindergarten at individual, classroom, school, and city-wide levels. Future Ready Five also provides professional development so teachers can use these screeners. Their approach is notably inclusive, emphasizing a race and ethnicity lens to ensure equitable educational outcomes. To learn more about the life-changing work of Future Ready Five, read their full spotlight on our website. https://lnkd.in/g6WXebQ5 On October 17th, the team from Future Ready Five is attending "Recharge: A Virtual Summit to Ramp Up Your Energy, Fundraising, and Impact." Will you be there? https://lnkd.in/gjg_MdWn A big thank you to our sponsors: Measurement Resources Company JDLevy & Associates Susie deVille brandiD Capital Campaign Pro

Our FR5 team truly enjoyed spending the day at the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research & Policy annual symposium "Strengthening the Early Childhood Workforce," today - with truly fascinating research by Dr. Daphna Bassok, professor of Education and Public Policy and associate director of EdPolicyWorks at the University of Virginia.

Tuesday morning FR5 received a support grant at the PNC Grow Up Great Grant Celebration held at the Grange Audubon Center. -Our CEO Mario Basora and Chief Advancement Officer Neeta Agrawal are pictured here alongside PNC's Mary Auch, Kelsey Gregory, Shannon Morgan. We are honored to be recognized alongside many local mission-drive organizations (so many partners, colleagues and friends!) working to build brighter futures for the next generation. • Support from the PNC Foundation gives us the ability to continue and grow our work to address disparities across communities so that all children are ready for kindergarten in Franklin County. #earlychildhoodeducation

Excited to share this news with our network - thanks to PNC for the recognition! This meaningful grant award will enhance the continuing work we do with our community partners in Columbus to ensure kindergarten readiness, especially in underserved communities. #thrivebyfive #earlychildhoodeducation

Wednesday we hosted two fantastic conversations during #TheBigTable events with The Columbus Foundation. Thanks to attendees, our program partners, early childhood education centers, donors, educators and families who brought great questions and thoughtful ideas to the table. Thanks to our host space COhatch for the great facility! (Made possible through a generous scholarship award to Future Ready Five) #TheBigTable #futurereadyfive #earlychildhoodeducation Action for Children • Columbus Metropolitan Library • Nationwide Children's Hospital

Julian and I attended a kindergarten readiness workshop last night, where we learned about the importance of expanding children's vocabulary through various activities. We explored ways to introduce emotional words to help kids express their feelings and discussed using pictures alongside words to strengthen the connection between objects and their names. Here are some activities you can do at home: ❤️Emotion Cards: Create or use cards with pictures of different facial expressions (happy, sad, angry, surprised). Encourage your child to match the picture with the corresponding emotion word and use it to describe how they feel during different situations. ❤️Story Time with Vocabulary Focus: While reading a book with your child, pause to introduce new words. Use pictures in the book to explain the meaning of the word, and encourage your child to repeat it. You can also ask them questions to help them describe the images using their new vocabulary. ❤️Labeling Items at Home: Label common items around the house (e.g., “door,” “table,” “lamp”) with words and pictures. Encourage your child to say the word each time they see or use the item, reinforcing the connection between the written word and the object. ❤️Interactive Play: During playtime, introduce new words that describe what your child is doing or feeling. For example, if playing with blocks, you might say, “You’re building a tall tower. How does that make you feel—proud, excited?” Encourage your child to repeat the words and express their emotions. These activities will help parents integrate vocabulary-building into everyday moments while making it fun and interactive for their children. #EarlyChildhoodEducation #VocabularyBuilding Future Ready Five Action for Children

Join us for a fun-filled Pre-K & Kindergarten Enrollment Block Party! Discover the wonderful learning opportunities at Hamilton STEM Academy, Windsor STEM Academy, and Linden Park Early Childhood Education Center. Enrollment assistance, meals, family fun, and early childhood resources will be available. Don't miss out on this exciting event for your little ones! Monday, August 19th @ Hamilton Stem Academy starting at 5 PM #FutureReady #WeAreLinden #OneLinden