What is First Steps?

An Early Education Initiative.

South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness ('First Steps') is a comprehensive, results-oriented statewide education initiative to help prepare our children to reach first grade healthy and ready to succeed. Signed into law in June 1999 by Governor Hodges, First Steps is for children pre-first grade and their families. Public and private support are combined through county partnerships to enable individual communities to address the unmet needs of young children and their families.

Why First Steps?

Nearly 1 in 7 South Carolina children are assessed "not ready" for first grade. In some communities, this statistic is as poor as 1 in 4, or greater. Research studies repeatedly show that children who arrive unprepared for first grade's challenges have a difficult time catching up and succeeding throughout the rest of their school years. Many of these students drop out of school or do not find fulfilling productive jobs after high school as a result of their slow start. These children's entire lives are adversely affected by their lack of school readiness, and our quality of life overall in South Carolina suffers as well.

How it works.

Each of the state's 46 counties has formed a partnership board, including representatives of the   business, faith, education, health and nonprofit communities and parents of young children. Those boards have assessed county needs and resources and developed strategic plans to address what their young children and their families most need. As they determined their action plans, the boards looked at such issues as lifelong learning, early education, health care, quality child care and transportation. 

Two types of grants were available to the county partnership boards. Level One grants were for needs and resources assessment and planning, while Level Two grants fund implementing and managing of activities.

First Steps is a community-driven effort. Each county has determined its greatest needs and is implementing or enhancing the necessary services or programs to boost the school readiness of its children. For example, some communities are focusing efforts on parent education, while others are providing training opportunities for child care providers.

Collaboration - the key.

Effective collaboration provides the framework for First Steps, which is encouraging parents, business and community leaders, teachers, local agencies, nonprofits and faith communities to work together to improve school readiness.

First Steps is developing, promoting and assisting efforts of agencies, private service providers and public and private organizations at the state and community levels. By working together, these entities can focus and intensify critically needed services, assure efficiency of available resources and eliminate duplication of efforts.

The business and foundation communities have responded enthusiastically by making contributions to the initiative. Donors to date have given over $7.3 million.

When children begin first grade healthy and ready to learn, their future opportunities for success are much greater. Plus, communities are improved in the long-term through the creation of a stronger and more competitive workforce.

Goals for First Steps.

As stated in the enabling legislation, the goals for First Steps are as follows:

• provide parents with access to the support they might seek and want to strengthen their families and to promote the optimal development of their preschool children;
• increase comprehensive services so children have reduced risk for major physical, developmental and learning problems;
• promote high quality preschool programs that provide a healthy environment that will promote normal growth and development;
• provide services so all children receive the protection, nutrition and health care needed to thrive in the early years of life so they arrive at school ready to learn; and
• mobilize communities to focus efforts on providing enhanced services to support families and their young children so as to enable every child to reach school healthy and ready to learn.