Nonprofit prepares to expand kindergarten readiness program

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – "Can you say your A, B, Cs?" may sound like a simple question, but it’s part of a test that is getting important answers on how to address the kindergarten readiness crisis in Franklin County.

NBC4 has been following this story since a nonprofit working to address the issue got funding approved from Columbus City Council earlier this year.

More than half the kids in Franklin County are not ready for kindergarten and that’s something that can have an impact on success later in life.

Future Ready Five's pilot program is getting ready to wrap up and the nonprofit is already filling up its second cohort. It works with childcare centers to carry out tests and develop individualized ways to make sure each and every child is ready for kindergarten.

At “A Blessed Child Learning Academy” in northeast Columbus, children getting ready for kindergarten are taking a second round of tests.

"We've been introduced to so many different skills as far as trying to help the children take and engage with pronunciation," A Blessed Child Learning Academy Director and Owner Stephani Walker said.  

"90% of the brain is developed by age five. So it's important to set them up for success, not just for kindergarten, but for school and for life beyond," Future Ready Five Senior Project Manager Megan Hamilton said.

A Blessed Child Learning Academy got involved in Future Ready Five’s pilot program. Their teachers went through training, carried out tests and now say they are seeing the work pay off.

"They're more open. They're more vocal," Walker said. 

"We're just trying to gauge how much progress they've made since our first assessment," Future Ready Five Chief Operating Officer Dr. Vanisa Turney said. 

The first assessment was a few months ago.

"We can then use that data to work with the childcare teachers so they can still develop quality plans in preparation for kindergarten," Turney said. 

The data from these tests confirms there is a crisis. About 65% of children in Franklin County are not ready for kindergarten. For African American children, that number is around 78%, and for Latinx children, 85% are not ready.

"We do truly have a crisis in kindergarten. The majority of our children are not ready for kindergarten," Turney said. 

Now, as Future Ready Five gets ready to expand, they are trying to target the areas where more children are struggling.

"We want to make sure that every child in Franklin County is ready for kindergarten. But we have to start where there's a greatest need," Turney said. 

They’re seeing the interest, as hundreds hope to join the program.

"We started with about 200 kids and then since then, just from word of mouth and being out in the community more, we have been able to expand," Hamilton said. 

Future Ready Five tells NBC4 that the goal for cohort two is 500 children. However, they have had almost triple that number reach out. Due to funding, they can’t afford to take everyone now, but plan to continue expanding the program and add more and more children each year.