School Readiness Services

Meeting the First Education Goal:
School Readiness to Early Learning

The foundation for the Early Learning Coalition of Marion County was created in 1999 when the Florida Legislature created School Readiness Coalitions to ensure that children at risk of academic failure were provided the tools and resources to assist them in being prepared to enter school. In 2005, School Readiness Coalitions were renamed Early Learning Coalitions through a legislative mandate. The Coalition serves as a community-based planning, funding and service coordinating organization that designs and manages an integrated system of early learning services, including quality childcare.

The Coalition is a registered Florida not-for-profit corporation serving Marion County. Governance is provided through a 24 member Board of Directors comprised of local business leaders from the public and private sector.

Research has shown that early learning programs increase children’s chances of achieving future educational success and becoming productive members of society. Programs are:

• developmentally appropriate and research-based;
• involve parents as their child’s first teacher;
• serve as preventative measures for children at risk of future school failure;
• enhance the educational readiness of children; and
• support family education.

Community programs integrate a seamless system of services and link to all domains of child development – physical health, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development and communication skills.

For example, children ready to enter school are those who play well with others, pay attention and respond positively to teacher’s instructions, communicate well verbally, and are eager participants in classroom activities. They can recognize some letters of the alphabet and are familiar with print concepts (e.g. that English print is read from left to right). Ready children can also identify simple shapes (e.g. squares, circles, and triangles).

A second, and equally important, component of early learning programs through the Coalition include financial assistance for child care for eligible low-income working families with children ages birth through 12 years. Parents are responsible for a co-payment based on a sliding fee scale.