Ready For School

Dick Alexander: Business Champion

The Pew Center on the States has released Mobilizing Business Champions for Children: A Guide for Advocates to help advocates better understand the business community and its role in public policy. The successes of Ready for School chair Dick Alexander feature prominently.

RFS Leaders Endorse Kitzhaber Plan

Gov. Kitzhaber addresses national audience in D.C.
Watch the video

In his own words: Gov. Kitzhaber outlines budget: The first step on Oregon's path to a better future

In the Oregonian: Gov. John Kitzhaber says his budget would put Oregon on stable footing

Promoting Head Start as business proposition

You could say that Dick Alexander got to the issue of early childhood education from the other direction.

At the beginning, it wasn't that he was drawn, as a number of Head Start supporters are, by the vision of 4-year-olds entitled to a better shot, and warm images of picture books with cookies and milk.

He started out way down the line from that. Read more

Investing in early childhood education benefits state

During the holidays, we're all more aware of helping the less fortunate among us. It's fairly easy to toss some coins into a Salvation Army red kettle, donate canned food or buy a toy for a children's toy drive.

Those efforts can make the holidays brighter for low-income families. In reality, they are bandages applied to the larger wound of poverty. Read more

RFS: Powered by the Children’s Institute

Ready for School is powered by the research, communications and staffing of the Children’s Institute. The campaign is informed by a growing body of social, scientific and economic research supporting wise investments in early childhood.

Children's Institute | CI Publications | Resource Center

Ready for School is a statewide campaign to improve the lives of Oregon’s children and build a stronger economy with wise public investments in high-quality early childhood programs. The campaign is led by a coalition of top business and community leaders who have made it their business to better prepare at-risk children for success in school and later life. Make it your business, too!

Make It Your Business

Are you concerned about Oregon’s economic competitiveness?

Many of the nation's leading economists have identified public investments in high-quality early childhood programs as the most powerful investment America could make to secure a robust economy.

Are you alarmed by Oregon’s growing achievement gap?

Look to a child’s early years for both the source of the problem and the solution. The achievement gap is evident before children enter kindergarten, and high-quality early childhood programs have been proven to level the playing field for at-risk children.

Does Oregon’s staggering high school drop out rate concern you?

First recognize that children “drop out” of school long before they “walk out” the door. Next, support funding for proven and promising early childhood programs that positively shape a child’s ability to be successful in school and life.

Is crime an issue where you live or work?

Know that supporting the social and emotional health of young children is one of the most cost-effective crime-reduction strategies. Comprehensive programs, such as Head Start and Early Head Start, provide services that enhance a child’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive development.

Is poverty on your mind more and more these days?

Get ahead of the problem by supporting investments in human capital beginning when it matters most. Public funding for high-quality early childhood programs reduce the need for costly remedial education programs and adult social services and increases individual adult earning power.