Jumpstart

Background

The earliest years of a child's cognitive development are of critical importance. For instance, the best predictor of whether a 10th grader reads at grade level is whether or not that child knew her alphabet at age five.

Unfortunately, research indicates that a first-grader from a low-income background has one-fourth the vocabulary of her mid-income peers. Early intervention through preschool education can help address this disparity and ensure a child's successful educational development.

Mission

Jumpstart is working toward the day when every child in America enters school prepared to succeed. For the past 13 years, it has trained college students and paired them with young children in one-to-one partnerships designed to develop literacy, language and social skills in low-income preschoolers. Now a national leader in early childhood education, Jumpstart has engaged 2,500 college students in service to more than 10,000 children in 22 states and 60 communities across the country.

Full Circle Fund Role

It has become clear that focusing on college students alone will not fulfill Jumpstart's goals. Full Circle Fund is partnering with the San Francisco chapter to pilot a Senior Citizen Corps. We will help Jumpstart determine the most effective way to speed implementation and replication of this program in the Bay Area and on a national level.

NAME: Jumpstart
LOCATION: San Francisco
WEB: jstart.org
GRANT TERM: 2006-2007
TEAM LEAD: Jennifer Anastasoff