Priority Result: Education - More Lehigh Valley Youth Graduating From High School

Education is the foundation for a good life.  A high school diploma is an absolute necessity in our economy and the more education we acquire beyond graduation, the better equipped we are to secure meaningful work, earn more income, lead a healthy lifestyle, and live a productive and rewarding life.

Our community’s future depends on making education a priority.  Together, we must prepare children to be healthy and ready to learn as they enter kindergarten; provide the resources and supports to students for academic success in elementary, middle, and high school; offer more opportunities for families to get involved in their child’s education; and help parents to become economically stable.

Each year for the next three years, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley plans to reach nearly 9,000 children and youth by investing more than 70% of our community dollars in educational programs focused on the birth to graduation pathway.  Three of United Way’s Community Goals (Children Healthy and Ready to Learn, Youth Succeeding in School, and Strong Families in Vital Neighborhoods) will work together to ensure that more Lehigh Valley students graduate from high school.
  
PROGRAM INVESTMENTS – Programs and Strategies

 
These efforts are aimed at creating a continuum of programs and systems-change partnerships that will let Lehigh Valley children know we will do everything we can to support their success in school.  Several programs and strategies overlap as they are the core ingredients of all three community goals:

• Family literacy and adult education: more engaged and educated parents means greater academic            achievement for students.
• Coordinated delivery of services: streamlining resources reduces frustration, increases customer satisfaction, and improves access to necessary programs
• Programs focused on the continuum of academic success from before birth through graduation: transition strategies to maximize learning time and increase consistency. 
• Supports that promote/maintain stability for families: helps reduce family mobility rates (when families move, pulling children in and out of schools), increasing quality learning time.
• Academic enrichment opportunities before/after school and during the summer: intended to supplement the curriculum for extended learning time.

COMMUNITY-BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS
Allentown Promise Neighborhood (formerly the Allentown Youth Success Zone) - a nine-square-block area of center city Allentown, with projected borders of 7th, 10th, Liberty, and Turner Streets, the Allentown Promise Neighborhood’s mission is to ensure that all children (birth to 18) residing in this neighborhood succeed academically and graduate.

COMPASS Community Schools - a multi-district, multi-partner initiative focused on increasing the number of
opportunities and the capacity of the community to help kids succeed in school.  COMPASS currently works with 12 schools in 4 districts (Allentown, Bethlehem, and Bangor), and more than a dozen community organizations and
service providers to increase opportunities for children and families. 

• Allentown Promise Neighborhood
• COMPASS
• Report To The Community

• LEARN Grant
• Kindergarten Registration
• The State of Children in the Lehigh Valley
• United Way Investments

Get Involved