Category: Partner Spotlight

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, North Carolina authors, and diverse authors and bring these authors virtually now to our students,” said Natalie Strange, Director of Library Media Services at Guilford County Schools and a member of Greensboro Bound’s leadership team. “We also provide books for our school libraries that accompany these author visits.”

Guilford County students have the opportunity to read the text, then submit questions to the author. During the virtual visit, the author and students have great conversations about the topics, themes, and more. Greensboro Bound also creates lesson plans with each title so school library media coordinators can incorporate them.

Traditionally, these author visits have been offered to students in kindergarten through grade 12. But in the 2021-22 school year, a partnership with Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) helped create a new opportunity for children in Pre-K.“Working with our early learning department, we figured out a way to structure these visits for younger students and pre-readers,” Strange said. “We created shorter videos, incorporated songs, explored the story, and let them see what it’s like to talk with an author.”

The book they chose was Laundry Day by Jessixa Bagley. It’s about two bored badgers who get a little carried away while helping their mother.

“Students got hands-on learning by sorting different types of socks and using clothespins to put them on a laundry line, ” Strange said. “Thanks to Ready Ready, each student was given a copy of the book to take home. We knew it made a lasting impression when one of our students came in for book character day, and she had pinned old clothes, baby clothes, and socks on herself so she could be a character from that book.”

Strange said the lesson plans could also be used for Pre-K students in the 2022-23 school year since the author permitted the videos to be used again and again. “The students build a relationship with the author and the text, so now these characters have true meaning to them. It’s the beginning of a partnership that will continue to bring support for our young students as they become readers.”

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. That’s a recent name change – you may know them better as Care Coordination for Children (CC4C.)

“CMARC is a team of nurses and social workers who provide comprehensive care management for children from birth up until their 5th birthday,” said Deborah Goddard, CMARC’s supervisor. “A lot of the work we do is in direct correlation to the work Ready Ready does. We help prepare children for school readiness by helping parents identify and address any learning or developmental concerns they may have about their child. In addition to developmental concerns, the children in the CMARC program must have a chronic health condition or be impacted by Social Determinants of Health. Care Managers also help families that are being impacted by challenging levels of toxic stress and trauma.

One of the things that make our program unique is that we have always provided home visits for any CMARC family that desires a home visit. It’s so important to engage families in their own environments as it can often provide valuable insight about the child and family’s needs that might not otherwise be obtained. Goddard said that Guilford County families can participate in the CMARC program at no cost to the family as there are no income guidelines to be in the CMARC program. Children are referred by various sources such as pediatric offices, hospitals, the Department of Social Services (child protective services/ foster care), preschools/child care centers, and other community agencies.

CMARC care managers along with the parent work together to develop a care plan and goals that are tailored to meet the child and family’s needs. CMARC care managers also encourage parents to develop strong relationships with their child’s medical providers and work to link families to various community resources. “While it’s the child that is our primary focus, we try to help the whole family,” Goddard said. “If the parent needs housing or a job resource, or services for domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse, or transportation, we try to help the parent get linked to the organizations that can help them. As many studies have shown, the parent’s needs and behavior often have a direct influence on the child’s overall development and wellbeing.”

With 27 years of community services experience and visiting families in their homes, Goddard said she has an immense appreciation for the parenting journey and each family’s individual path. Goddard also stated she is extremely grateful to lead a team of skilled and professional care managers who are dedicated to serving approximately 650 CMARC families in our community each month.

The Guilford County Partnership for Children (GCPC) mission is to ensure that all Guilford County children ages birth to five are emotionally, intellectually, and physically ready for success in school.

Using public dollars and private donations, GCPC creates new programs and collaborates with existing ones to measurably improve the lives of children while strengthening families. The organization also administers one of the largest NC Pre-K programs in North Carolina, serving more than 2,000 preschoolers every school year.

With Smart Start expansion funding, GCPC is now able to fund the Child Care WAGE$ program in Guilford County.  WAGE$ provides education-based salary supplements to child care educators working with children ages birth to five.

“We are very excited to bring WAGE$ back to Guilford County,” said Ann Vandervliet Stratton, GCPC executive director. “We’re hearing there’s a 50 percent turnover rate in the county’s early education sector due to low wages and benefits. There’s enough pandemic-related hardship for working parents.  We need to support stable, accessible, high-quality child care for our families, children, and the local economy.”

It’s a natural connection. GCPC is also involved in early childhood training, workshops, and other resources for early childhood educators. The Child Care WAGE$ program is designed to increase retention, education, and compensation.

According to the program, the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University reports that “substantial investments in training, recruiting, compensating, and retaining a high-quality workforce must be a top priority for society.”  WAGE$ helps attract educated teachers to the field in the first place who might not otherwise choose it due to typically low salaries and benefits.  The additional compensation helps retain those educated teachers, and the program encourages (even mandates) additional education.

“WAGE$ produces measurable results,” Stratton said. “N.C. communities that invest in WAGE$ typically see a 25 percent reduction in the turnover rate.”

To be eligible for WAGE$, educators must work in a licensed child care program, earn less than $17 per hour, work at least six months in the same child care program, and meet certain educational criteria.

Lower turnover rates are important for children in early child care settings. The bond children create with their teachers sets the groundwork for positive learning experiences. When a program has teacher turnover, it is difficult for the center owner and the young children they serve.

Achieving higher levels of education can increase the supplement amount an educator can receive. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Program offers scholarships to child care professionals who want to earn course credits toward certification or a degree. GCPC is sharing ways early childhood educators can get help with the training and education to increase the supplement they will receive through the program.

WAGE$ is a funding collaboration between GCPC (Smart Start) and the Division of Child Development and Early Education. It is administered by the Child Care Services Association.

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.

“Our whole mission is centered around giving students access to support services and scholarships,” said President and CEO Wendy Poteat. “We’re trying to make sure Guilford County students are ready for college, a career, or life – whether they choose a four-year degree, a two-year degree, or a certificate program.”

Poteat joined Say Yes in 2019, at the time when it became a local nonprofit. During her time at the organization, she deepened its reach with Guilford County Schools to offer tutoring and other supports to promote success starting in elementary school.

“While Ready for School, Ready for Life focuses on prenatal to age eight and setting kids up for success, I see our work being part of that continuum,” Poteat said. “Say Yes Guilford takes up at that transition point in third grade to help make sure they are proficient in reading and supported through middle and high school. It’s a continuum of care.”

When the pandemic hit, a new opportunity to help students arose. Say Yes Guilford began offering virtual tutoring to alleviate learning loss to students now learning remotely.

“We offer a virtual tutoring prep platform from kindergarten to eighth grade with volunteer tutors. We thought we might offer it for one semester, but as the pandemic lingered, we had families asking us to keep it going,” Poteat said. “Ready Ready and The Duke Endowment helped us with funding, so we can continue to offer this support to students.”

Poteat says close partnerships with Guilford County Schools and community organizations help Say Yes offer support to GCS’ 70,000 students. “While we may be best known for providing last-dollar scholarships, more of our work is focused on listening and asking what families in Guilford County Schools really need. That’s how we can identify gaps and offer services that families say they want.”

Say Yes is using that information to develop its new strategies. One Poteat is particularly excited about is bringing career technical education (CTE) exposure to students starting in middle school. “We want sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to know more about the career academies and the amazing CTE opportunities available so they can plan better for their high school registration in eighth grade.”

When it comes to high school, Poteat says her staff is focused on equipping students to follow their best path and eliminating finance as a barrier. Say Yes offers a variety of coaching for students, such as one on one consultations that explore career or college options, SAT/ACT prep classes, individual scholarship counseling, or financial aid workshops, to name a few.

In addition to her work at Say Yes Guilford, Poteat has served on Ready Ready’s Ages 3-5 Active Reading strategy team. “It’s a tenet of servant leadership when you think about helping the community or helping people. That’s what I love about Ready Ready and being involved with this strategy team,” she said. “There are so many voices in the room and communities being heard. We must work through these ideas to engage active reading through different experiences and connections.”

We work with more than 100 community organizations. You can see the extensive list on our website. If you’re one of our partners and would like to be featured, please contact Stephanie Skordas, Director of Marketing & Communications.

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.

“We’re very focused on outreach through our bookmobile and other programs,” Zola said. “We’re very involved with voting and early literacy, for example. We’re also working with the schools through our KinderCard program. We want every kindergartener in High Point schools to have a library card.”

The library’s bookmobile has been an essential part of this outreach. “Our bookmobile goes to home child care centers in the mornings to bring books and share storytimes,” he said. “In the afternoons, the bookmobile goes out into the community, where we partner with Growdega mobile pantry to visit neighborhoods that have low incomes, transportation needs, and food insecurity. Our bookmobile not only provides resources they need, in book and program form, but it’s also a wi-fi hotspot neighbors can access while we’re there.”

Partnering with Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) and Reach Out and Read, Zola and the library staff worked on a program that connects with local hospitals to provide books for parents of newborns. “We want them to have a little backpack with board books and information about early literacy, including The Basics Guilford, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and Reach Out and Read. We hope to encourage them to come to the library with their little ones.”

Zola points out that library programs extend beyond providing books on shelves inside a building. “We’re really concerned about health and do programs about nutrition for children and adults. We’re concerned about the homeless population – we serve breakfast in the library one morning each week so we can keep in touch and find out how we can help with needs like coats during the winter, for example.”

The library offers programs on finance and a business center to support High Point residents. “As a community, we won’t survive without unity,” Zola said. “We’re trying to help in all different ways, not just asking people to come in and check out books.”

By Stephanie Skordas, Director of Marketing & Communications

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.

“We work with families who are expecting children or have children up through their child’s entry into kindergarten or turn age six,” said Patti Learman, director of Parents as Teachers Guilford County. “Our work is built around the relationship that develops between the parent educator and the family. It’s a partnership for the parenting journey – these relationships are the ‘secret sauce’ that really make a difference.”

Learman explains that Parents as Teachers has four components to its program. Personal visits offer one-on-one time with a parent educator who shares child development information and activities. Regular screenings help parents make sure their child or children are healthy, safe, and developing on track. Group connections provide opportunities for families to share experiences, discuss challenges, and learn with other parents, and community resources are matched with families by parent educators to address parents’ concerns and needs.

From startup conversations to participating in the first cohort of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), Parents as Teachers has been collaborating with Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) for years.

“During the CQI process, we focused on bringing parent voice to our board,” Learman said. “We also did a lot of trauma-informed work with our parent educators so they understand how many families have experienced trauma and how we can best interact with them. Now it’s part of our policies and procedures and part of our regular work.”

Generally, the organization works with 60-75 families each year. The COVID-19 pandemic did affect the numbers slightly, but Learman and her team were delighted that switching to virtual visits was welcomed by their families. “We actually saw an increase in our visit numbers because families were so anxious for interaction,” she said. “We also gave tablets with a wi-fi hotspot to more than a dozen families who didn’t have internet access, thanks to funding provided through Smart Start.”

Like Ready Ready, Parents as Teachers supports school readiness for Guilford County children. Helping children arrive at school with the knowledge, skills, and physical and emotional health needed is one of the focus areas for the organization. Creating strong families is another – recognizing that each family member’s experiences or actions affect the whole unit.

“Family well-being is one of our focus areas,” Learman said. “So, if a parent needs a GED or employment or housing, we’ll get them connected with those resources. At the same time, we help parents understand their child’s stages of development and how they can best nurture them. We also believe strongly in helping parents connect with other families to build a support network and social outlets – when they realize their two-year-old isn’t the only one acting a certain way, they can normalize the parenting struggles and share in the triumphs together. All these areas work together in a complete system.”

By Stephanie Skordas, Director of Marketing & Communications

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. HPHA also offers post-purchase education for home buyers, and courses in credit counseling, rental education, and more.

It’s a mission CEO Angela McGill takes to heart.

“I grew up in public housing in High Point in what was formerly Clara Cox Homes,” McGill said. “In one of the units, we had a Head Start program which I participated in. I believe the early education Head Start provides sets a foundation for academic growth.”

McGill left High Point for a stint in the U.S. Army before earning her B.S. and MBA degrees from High Point University. She began her career with HPHA in 2003, and in 2010 became the first female to head the agency since its formation in 1940.

“There’s nothing more exciting than being able to go back to the community which impacted you the most,” McGill said. “Living in public housing can come with stereotyping and stigmas. It’s incredibly important to have the academic resources to set the foundation for children. Having resources for parents gives them tools to better understand child development and the knowledge on how to encourage their children to thrive. That’s why our partnership with Ready for School, Ready for Life has been so beneficial.”

The HPHA and Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) have teamed up to provide early childhood resources to HPHA’s Public Housing community members by way of the Interactive Learning Center located at the J.C. Morgan Community Center. Two rooms have been transformed for families with young children themed around The Basics Guilford.

One of the rooms is for families with children ages 0-3 with soft play mats, age-appropriate toys, and beanbag chairs. The second is designed for families with children ages 3-5 and offers comfortable children’s furniture, books, and fun manipulatives.

“Creating an environment to help families with young children is critical to their emotional, physical, and cognitive well-being. It supports our mission and Ready Ready has been a dynamic partner.”

HPHA and Ready Ready are working together to connect with local organizations to provide programming on child development, literacy, parenting, and more. HPHA’s families will be able to sign up for these learning opportunities through the HPHA’s Resident Services Department.