Great by Eight Program Development Campaign

Preschool_Pals0477f_loresFor more than two decades, Way to Grow (WTG) has worked successfully with Minneapolis families to ensure the health, well being and school readiness of their children from prenatal until kindergarten. Now we are launching the Great by Eight Campaign: a five-year initiative with the support of the Minneapolis Public Schools that will expand our successful and statistically proven home-visiting model to include children from pregnancy  through grade three, age eight. We are seeking to raise $2.5 million over the next five years to support this watershed project. View our Great by Eight Program Development Campaign Publication for additional information about the campaign goals and outcomes. Or watch the most recent Way to Grow Video on YouTube.

$2.5 million in program support will enable us to:

  • Continue service with over 900 children from birth to kindergarten.
  • Extend services to additional kindergarteners each year while continuing to work with students who have moved on to first, second and third grades.
  • Recruit, hire and train additional program staff, including Family Educators and Certified Elementary Education teachers.
  • Develop and conduct evaluation processes in tracking participant progress, outcomes and program effectiveness.
  • Develop and coordinate a transformational educational process to inspire systemic change within 26+ schools in Minneapolis and first-ring suburb schools.
  • Create individualized plans for each child and family to achieve established academic, health and social development goals.

 

Contribute to the Great by Eight Campaign today!!


Jennifer and her children Brian and Maya were referred to Way to Grow through a family friend. The family of three was living in a small apartment with Jennifer’s cousin and her children. By working with a family educator, the family found a two bedroom apartment of their own. Once they were established, their family educator began working on reading with Maya, who was four-years old and struggled with English. After a short period of time, Maya excelled in English and quickly tested in the top group of Way to Grow’s IGDI assessed children. Now as a kindergartener, Maya is enrolled in the Great by Eight K-3 Elementary Education Program. Her mother, teacher and family educator all work together through home visits, parent-teacher conferences and school meetings to ensure she is off to a good start in the Minneapolis Public Schools. Together they are setting Maya up for success in school and life.