Ready, Set, Go is OPEN’s systemic early childhood and school readiness initiative, aimed at changing the life trajectory of a generation by focusing on our youngest citizens.
Through Ready, Set, Go!, OPEN seeks to engage schools, parents, and community leaders in working to best prepare our children for their first day of school. A child’s readiness for kindergarten has been connected to third grade literacy, middle school math scores, and high school dropout rates. Ready, Set, Go! is driven by data collected through the city using a developmentally appropriate assessment called the Early Development Instrument as part of a thirty-four state collaborative with Transforming Early Childhood Community Systems (TECCS) and the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities.
Ready, Set, Go has a three-pronged approach:
• EDI Data Collection
• Early Childhood Advocacy (Champions for the Young Child)
• Community Engagement and Capacity (Parents as First Educators)
Utilizing the EDI, OPEN collected data on 65% of kindergarten-age New Orleans children in 2013, and we’re sharing it with neighborhood organizations, parents, early childhood service providers, city government leaders, and other key stakeholders to help them better support families in preparing children for school. EDI data is also used to support community improvement grants and help local citizens direct resources where they are most needed.