What is Success By 6?
United Way Success By 6® (SB6) comprises the largest network of early childhood coalitions in the nation. More than 350 community and statewide coalitions make up this network. Each coalition plans and implements a number of powerful strategies at both the system change and direct service levels. While the vision is that every child will enter kindergarten ready to succeed, the key strategy to accomplish this is to improve the lives of children and their families
The period of life from birth to age 6 offers a crucial window of opportunity to establish a foundation for success in school and life. Children in this age group are dependent on their parents to offer early learning experiences that prepare them for school readiness.
Locally, United Way of Rutherford County’s Success By 6 program is networked with other local and state coalitions and with other nonprofit and for-profit organizations that address the root of community problems that prevent children from entering school prepared to succeed. In Rutherford County, the Success By 6 program focuses on ensuring healthy families and fostering responsible parenthood in order to achieve school readiness.
How Does Success By 6 Serve Families?
Success By 6 fulfills its mission to prepare children for school through several strategies. Success By 6 provides 8+ parent education workshops in both Rutherford and Cannon Counties each year, instructing 200 parents and childcare educators about a whole variety of parenting and child development issues such as bonding, brain development, discipline and safety. Success By 6 provides parent education materials to libraries, daycare centers, schools, pediatrician’s offices, social service agencies that help families, and even the local children’s museum. Parent education materials include a newsletter that is published 9 months each year called “Helping Children Learn,” a resource guide for families with young children that lists all helping resources in the community along with telephone numbers, and pamphlets and videotapes on topics helpful to parents.
Success By 6 participates in collaborative, community-wide efforts to help and support families in Rutherford and Cannon Counties. These efforts include participation in community fairs and expos, involvement in coalitions such as the Rutherford Association for the Education of Young Children and the Rutherford County Council on Children and Youth, and partnering with other initiatives serving families and children such as Read To Succeed and the Early Childhood Network.
Success By 6 has worked to promote family literacy and increased use of the library through its Raising A Reader program. Raising A Reader is a book bag program, currently serving 125 children in 8 preschools that serve needy and at-risk children. Rutherford County’s Success By 6 works to affect social policy issues affecting families and children through participation in Statewide Success By 6, coming together with other Success By 6 initiatives in Tennessee to advocate for issues such as universal pre-kindergarten and uniform kindergarten readiness measurement tools. Through all of these efforts, Success By 6 effectively works to improve the conditions both locally and statewide for families so that they can better prepare their children for lifelong learning and success.
Rutherford County Parent Education Workshops
June 8th, 2007
The First Years Last Forever
Presented by Ruth Ventrice of Success By 6
At the Smyrna Public Library
Two Sessions- 9am and 10am
July 13, 2007
Ready To Learn: The Importance of Family Literacy
Presented by Ruth Ventrice of Success By 6
At the Smyrna Public Library
Two Sessions- 9am and 10am
Baby and Family Expo
Download .PDF
March 17th, 2007
All workshops are FREE to parents, caregivers and educators.
Continuing education credits will be offered.
Come and Join the fun. Learning materials provided for free. Door prizes too!
Success By 6 is an initiative of United Way of Rutherford County
Call Ruth Ventrice at 893-7303 for information.
