UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL IOWA BLOG

You probably played hooky once or twice as a kid to savor that sweet feeling of sleeping in and watching daytime television. So when you hear about students who are chronically absent—missing 18 school days or more a year—you might imagine hundreds of students stubbornly refusing to get out of bed.

Allyson Vukovich, community partnership coordinator at Des Moines Public Schools, talked with United Way to dispel that picture.

The many quality child care providers in central Iowa are an essential part of the community, and their services are an important piece of the puzzle for many working parents. But the community and the state are still trying to figure out how to navigate the complicated process of providing Child Care Assistance to all of those who need it.

On Saturday, August 27, for the eighth annual Graduation Walk, 476 volunteers visited the homes of 1,487 Des Moines middle and high students who were either chronically absent or undercredited. The volunteers provided resources to help students overcome barriers such as lack of transportation, medical issues or learning disabilities. But most important, they encouraged students to care about their education—because central Iowa cares about them and their future.

 Kindergarten is harder than you think. It’s more than playtime and naptime; it’s the foundation of an education that will carry them to high school graduation and beyond.

As schools dismiss for the summer, kids look forward to the long summer break. For some, that means carefree days at the pool, a fun and enriching camp experience, a family vacation, and a long list of summer reading to enjoy. After three months fly by, they will head back to school, ready to calculate the area of a circle and read more challenging books than they read in the spring. This isn't every child's story, however.

On June 1-5, central Iowans will welcome some of the world’s best golfers to the Principal Charity Classic, our community’s premier charitable sports event.

Central Iowans donate 40,000 books to Stuff the Bus

READ to SUCCEED: Volunteers helping children read proficiently

In recognition of its 100^th year, United Way of Central Iowa is launching READ to SUCCEED, its first-ever grassroots public awareness campaign to engage the entire community and call individuals to take action to ensure students read proficiently by the end of third grade. 

“Long gone are the days when school success is the domain of only educators and families,” said Mary Sellers, president of United Way of Central Iowa, in her opening remarks at the Destination Graduation event on April 6.

Instead, businesses, nonprofits, education, government and faith-based communities must gather together to help solve the issues facing schools and students in the 21^st century. Destination Graduation was the beginning of just such a collaboration, as more than 50 people from those sectors attended the summit, hosted by United Way of Central Iowa, America's Promise Alliance and the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

Growing up, books were a staple. I read everything I could, scoured over the Scholastic book fair bifold, and trips to Barnes & Noble were only slightly less exciting than an elementary school sleepover. While my love for reading isn’t quite as strong as it was twenty-some years ago, it has played a huge role in shaping who I am and what I’ve been able to learn.