The Packard Foundation Renews Commitment with $100,000 Grant
By many measures of progress, the United States is falling behind in the industrial world. At the Council, we firmly believe that what’s needed is a new look at education, complete with a comprehensive and integrated pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade early education investment that will prepare our students to excel and compete with their peers, whether in Finland, South Korea or India. Indeed, quality pre-kindergarten education is a place where maximum returns can be found for relatively small investments.
For the third year in a row, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation agrees. With a substantial commitment to our program, On the Job for California Kids: The Employer Engagement Initiative for ECE, the Foundation is helping to move our business engagement strategy forward into new territory—one that involves continued outreach to the CEOs of major corporations and then beyond to the grasstops of small-to-medium sized businesses around California. Through this initiative, the Council is contributing to systemic P-20 education improvement and addressing long-term workforce development needs.
We believe the greatest opportunity to build effective business engagement lies at the local level, for example, by partnering Chambers of Commerce with early education advocates and community leaders. Such partnerships work to push the message that quality affordable preschool is an important component of any successful community. The Bay Area Council has convened and fostered several such partnerships across the region and is expanding this work thanks to the support of the Packard Foundation.
For information about our initiative, On the Job for California Kids, contact: Matt Regan, VP, Government Relations
For information about how to help support our work, contact: Chandra Alexandre, VP, Development
