Ready for School
Ready for Life
Building a connected system of care for our youngest children and their families.
We Are
Ready
to help every child get a great start in life.
Ready for School, Ready for Life is a collaborative effort to build a connected, innovative system of care for Guilford County’s youngest children and their families.
And then we’ll coach other North Carolina counties how to replicate our results.
Every child deserves a great start in life, but not every child starts from the same place.
News
Public Ed Works Features Ready Ready in Four Great Stories!
Public Ed Works featured Ready for School, Ready for Life in four great stories. These pieces highlight the amazing progress we, in collaboration with our partner organizations, are making toward building and maintaining a coordinated system of care for Guilford County’s youngest children and their families.
Pritzker Children’s Initiative Awards Ready, Ready $500,000 for Early Childhood Care
“This investment from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative will allow us to expand our data-driven approach to building an integrated system of early childhood care, beginning prenatally, in Guilford County and share what we’re learning with other communities in North Carolina and beyond.”
Ready Ready Invests $250,000 in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to Strengthen Guilford County’s Early Childhood Support System
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) is pleased to announce a substantial investment of $250,000 in grants to five distinguished programs across Guilford County, awarding each $50,000.
Ready for School, Ready for Life gathers community leaders to champion early childhood development
Registation is now open for the Ready for Success annual gathering on October 25, 2023, at Koury Convention Center from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m
Katina Allen elected to national steering committee
Ready Ready is excited to announce that Katina Allen, a dedicated member of Ready Ready’s Board of Directors and the Guilford Parent Leader Network (GPLN) has been elected to serve on the national Parent Leader Network steering committee.
Fueling minds and bodies: The Power of Produce
Ready Ready and The Basics Guilford have teamed up with the High Point Public LIbrary and Growing High Point to offer free books to children in the Power of Produce (POP) club, thanks to a generous donation from the High Point Community Foundation.
Ready for School, Ready for Life awards funding for Guilford County doula program
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has awarded Every Baby Guilford nearly $38,000 to establish a countywide doula program to reduce the high infant mortality rates in Guilford County.
Fathers Ready to Camp
“Campers have s’more fun,” they say, and a group of Guilford Parent Leader Network (GPLN) families spent a night under the stars at Oak Hollow Park Campground in High Point, N.C. on June 24, 2023. It was the first Fathers Ready to Grow campout.
William Julius Wilson Institute visits Ready Ready
“When WJWI expressed interest in coming for a visit, we asked them – how much time do you have?” said Charrise Hart, Ready Ready’s chief executive officer.
Partner Spotlight: YWCA Emergency Family Shelter
The YWCA Greensboro Emergency Family Shelter offers housing, food, case management, and support for families experiencing homelessness.
Ready Ready gives nearly 1,000 books to High Point pre-K students
In partnership with Book Harvest of Durham, N.C., Ready Ready distributed nearly 1,000 books to children in pre-K classrooms in High Point in May 2023.
Ready for School, Ready for Life staff members graduate from local leadership programs
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) staff members have graduated from Guilford County leadership programs.
Ready for School, Ready for Life receives Leon Levine Foundation support
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has received a $100,000 grant from The Leon Levine Foundation (TLLF).
Partner Spotlight: Child First – Family Service of the Piedmont
Since June 2022, Family Service of the Piedmont has offered Child First in Guilford County.
Early childhood development through reading aloud
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) is mentioned in an article about how reading aloud promotes early childhood brain development.
Partner Spotlight: Child First
Child First helps families build strong, nurturing relationships that heal and protect young children from the devastating impact of trauma and chronic stress. The program uses a two-generation approach, providing mental health services to parents and children through home visits and connecting them with resources, information, and support to make healthy child development possible. “We […]
Ready for School, Ready for Life expands family’s access to books
Ready Ready’s Coretta Walker and Megan LeFaivre discuss how our organization promotes early literacy.
Partner Spotlight: GuilfordWorks
GuilfordWorks is a public-private organization that helps businesses with various workforce needs, such as locating, screening, selecting, or training workers.
Maximize Love, Manage Stress – Basics Guilford tips from the heart
Ready Ready’s Literacy Coordinator Megan LeFaivre shared science-based tips about the Basic Guilford’s Maximize Love, Manage Stress for Valentine’s Day. She was interviewed on Fox 8 WGHP.
Ready for School, Ready for Life receives Pritzker Children’s Initiative Grant
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has received a $50,000 grant from Pritzker Children’s Initiative. The grant will create a plan to share Ready Ready’s core approaches, strategies, and lessons learned with other North Carolina communities and states developing a comprehensive prenatal-to-three system.
Partner Spotlight: Thriving at Three
Thriving at Three, a program of the Center for New North Carolinians, assures that Latino/Hispanic immigrant children in Greensboro have a positive and strong foundation from birth to age three.
Ready for School, Ready for Life Adds Strategies Focused on Children Ages 3-5
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has selected community partners to pilot strategies focused on families with children ages 3-5 in Guilford County.
The Duke Endowment visits Ready Ready
The Duke Endowment Trustees, Ready for School, Ready for Life Board of Directors and staff gathered on August 29, 2022 for a site visit focused on the early childhood ecosystem.
Ready for School, Ready for Life Awards Continuous Quality Improvement Grants
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has awarded $652,000 in grants to programs from 13 organizations serving families in Guilford County to participate in its second cohort of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process.
Partner Spotlight: Greensboro Bound
Greensboro Bound’s vision is to bring outstanding writers of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, young adult, and children’s books to our community and into our schools. While it may be best known for the annual Greensboro Bound Literary Festival, the organization’s efforts to connect authors and Guilford County Schools students are highly praised. “We find local authors, […]
Partner Spotlight: Care Management for At-Risk Children
Guilford County’s Health Department has a number of programs designed to support children and their families with healthy development. One of them is Care Management for At-Risk Children, also known as CMARC.
The Pritzker Children’s Initiative Supports Ready for School, Ready for Life’s Equity Focus
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has received a $50,000 grant from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative to support the organization’s three-year Equity Action Plan.
Ready for School, Ready for Life Receives Lincoln Financial Foundation Grant
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) is honored to receive a $25,000 grant from the Lincoln Financial Foundation to promote early literacy and kindergarten readiness for Guilford County children.
Town Hall meeting explores community needs
Parent leaders held a Town Hall meeting on April 24 to ask families how our community could offer more support.
Partner Spotlight: Guilford County Partnership for Children
Now GCPC is participating in the Child Care WAGE$ program, which provides education-based salary supplements to child care educators working with children ages birth to five.
Celebrate Earth Day with your children
Looking for ways to celebrate Earth Day with your children? Here are some fun crafts, books to share, and activities to try.
A vision ‘as breathtaking and groundbreaking as public school’ for early childhood
“Yes, we want to invest in job training and workforce development … we want to invest in schooling and preschool programs, but the more we can invest in the early years — in supporting women, children, and families prenatally up to age 3, and then shifting that focus to ages 3 to 8 — it’s going to yield a higher return,” said Charrise Hart, the CEO of Ready for School, Ready for Life.
Cemala Foundation funds a collaboration of four organizations to support maternal health and reduce infant mortality in Guilford County
The American Heart Association, Every Baby Guilford, March of Dimes, and Ready for School Ready for Life are proud to be co-recipients of a one-year grant from the Cemala Foundation focused on cardiovascular health and maternal health to reduce infant mortality in Guilford County.
Ready for School, Ready for Life seeks partners for Phase II work
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready), is seeking responses from local partners to lead the initial implementation of community-wide strategies designed to improve outcomes for children ages three to five in Guilford County.
Partner Spotlight: Say Yes Guilford
Say Yes Guilford is an educational nonprofit committed to providing access to support services and scholarships designed to prepare Guilford County Schools’ students for success in college, career, and life.
Partner Spotlight: High Point Public Library
The mission of the High Point Public Library is nurturing the joy of reading, sharing the power of knowledge, strengthening the sense of community, and enhancing cultural and economic vitality. It’s a mission that Children’s Services Manager Jim Zola takes to heart.
Partner Spotlight: Parents as Teachers Guilford County
Parents as Teachers Guilford County (PATGC) believes all parents can be empowered to interact with their children in a way that encourages healthy well-rounded development while enjoying their parenting journey.
N.C. invests in early childhood development
The newly-signed North Carolina budget includes $1.2 million in funding for Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) and its mission to build a connected, innovative system of care for Guilford County’s youngest children and their families.
Partner Spotlight: Housing Authority of the City of High Point
The mission of the Housing Authority of the City of High Point (HPHA) is to provide affordable housing to low-income to moderate-income families. What you may not know is that the organization also offers housing counseling services to the public. These services include financial budgeting, preparing for a home purchase, and financial literacy.
New resource for High Point families with young children
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has partnered with the Housing Authority of the City of High Point (HPHA) to provide early childhood development resources to its residents.
Partner Spotlight: Every Baby Guilford
Every Baby Guilford is a 30-year public-private partnership with the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services. As part of its 30th anniversary, the organization – formerly the Coalition on Infant Mortality – launched with a new name and a five-year strategic plan.
We are ready to address systemic inequities in Guilford County
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has outlined our equity statement. The creation of this statement was the work of our Equity Strategies Committee of the Board of Directors. They sought the input of many stakeholders, including our parent leaders, staff, equity consultants, and the Board
Ready Ready partners with Guilford Parent Academy for three-part series on early education
To help families prepare their preschoolers for school and for life, Guilford Parent Academy (GPA) and Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) have teamed up for three virtual literacy workshops.
11 Parent Leaders graduate from COFI Phase 2 training
Eleven parent leaders from the Guilford Parent Leader Network have graduated from Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) Phase 2 training.
Partner Spotlight: Greater High Point Food Alliance
The Greater High Point Food Alliance (GHPFA) is a grassroots organization formed to address food insecurity. When it started in 2014, the Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was number two in the nation in food hardship. The following year, it moved to number one. Since that time, it has moved to number 14, according […]
Partner Spotlight: Reach Out and Read
Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) partners with Reach Out and Read, HealthySteps, Family Connects, and Nurse-Family Partnership through our Navigation system. Navigation ensures every pregnant person and their family has information and support as their family grows.
Partner Spotlight: Center for the Study of Social Policy
The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) works to achieve a racially, economically, and socially just society in which all children, youth, and families thrive. Through community partners like Ready for School, Ready for Life ….
The Basics Enhance Tot Spot at Greensboro Children’s Museum
The new Tot Spot features The Basics Guilford, five fun, science-based parenting and caregiving concepts that anyone can do. Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) is pleased to present The Basics.
Community Survey launched
Working with our partners at UNC-Greensboro, Ready Ready is developing a community survey to gather information on how best to prepare children for school.
Read our 2020 Impact Report
We are pleased to share our organization’s first annual report.
Parent leadership training
Seven parent leaders in the Guilford Parent Leader Network have attended the Spiral of Transformative Change Equity Webinar Series. This education series is similar to the training Ready Ready staff and board members received through the Equity Strategies Committee.
Worthy Wages for Worthy Work
See what these early child care teachers and administrators are experiencing daily. We collaborated with EQuIPD to create this video focused on Guilford County’s early child care teachers.
Partner Spotlight: EQuIPD
When the organization that became Ready for School, Ready for Life was a grassroots effort in Guilford County, we were glad to have partners like EQuIPD by our side, even as EQuIPD was starting its important work. EQuIPD’s mission is to nurture and empower early care and education professionals with sustainability and success tools. “We’re […]
Partner Spotlight: BackPack Beginnings
By Stephanie Skordas, Director of Marketing & Communications A news story shown on Washington D.C. television about a teacher in Texas who was slipping food into children’s backpacks stuck with Parker White as she moved back to Greensboro and started raising her family. “I couldn’t get it out of my head,” White, the executive director […]
Coaching for Literacy awards grant
Teaming with the North Carolina A&T State University men’s and women’s basketball teams, Coaching for Literacy has awarded Ready Ready a grant as part of its #Fight4Literacy initiative.
The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality featured contributions from Ready Ready and Program Manager Michelle Chapin in its new brief, “Embedding Equity in Early Childhood Initiatives.”
Partner Spotlight: North Carolina Early Education Coalition
The North Carolina Early Education Coalition (NCEEC) works to ensure that all children have access to high-quality early care and learning experiences. Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has partnered with the Coalition on the Think Babies NC Alliance.
Partner Spotlight: Project LLIFE
Project LLIFE aims to increase skills and performance in language and literacy for children between the ages of 1-4.
Partner Spotlight: Guilford Child Development
Guilford Child Development was one of Ready Ready’s first partners, heavily involved in the 100-day challenges that helped coalesce the community effort into the growing nonprofit organization we are today.
Guilford Parent Leader Network
The Guilford Parent Leader Network was established as a decision-making body of Ready for School, Ready for Life. The goal of the group is to ensure that family voice is brought into every key decision as we work together to build an innovative, connected early childhood system in Guilford County.
November: CEO Message
Dear Ready Ready Friend, Governor Roy Cooper has designated November as Family Engagement Month in North Carolina. It couldn’t come at a better time. While November traditionally brings a focus on family and gratitude, this year may include some extra stress. An important presidential election in a country deeply divided by politics happened this week. […]
Partner Spotlight: Healthy Steps
Partner Spotlight: Healthy Steps Science shows that 80% of brain development occurs by age three, making the first few years of a child’s life critical to their health and future well-being. But often times, these years are overwhelming for parents and caregivers as they face challenges integrating a new child into their lives. These challenges […]
Keep Your Child’s Development on Pace During the Pandemic
KEEP YOUR CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT ON PACE DURING THE PANDEMIC Benefits of Reading with Your Child While they use different terms, Guilford Basics (Read and Discuss Stories) and Read Charlotte (Active Reading), both offer great tips for engaging your child while reading. Below are a few suggestions from them: Commit to Read Every Day Try to set aside […]
Our Priorities
Routes To Ready
Routes to Ready links parents and caregivers with trusted community partners to contribute to healthy development for Guilford County’s youngest children. Beginning prenatally and continuing through age 3, Routes to Ready navigates families to the unique combination of community resources and information families want, and children need.
The Basics
The Basics Guilford are five, fun, science-based concepts any parent or caregiver can do to promote healthy development for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.