School Readiness, First 5 Sacramento Commission, County of Sacramento, California, USA

School readiness is preparing children to enter kindergarten “ready to learn.” The years from birth through age five are a time of significant growth and change. In these years children develop basic knowledge, understanding and interests they need to become successful learners. School readiness includes five major areas: physical well-being and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches to learning; language development and communication; cognition and general knowledge.

First 5 Sacramento has partnered with high quality learning programs that are committed to providing children with the tools necessary to make them successful life-long learners.

School Readiness Initiative:
The School Readiness Initiative provides state-match funds to six Sacramento County school districts serving children in the lowest academically performing schools. These funds are matched dollar for dollar by the First 5 California State Commission.
School Readiness Program Expansion:
When First 5 California formally announced the availability of Cycle 2 (FY2008-2012) state-match School Readiness funding, they stipulated that no additional funds would be available for program expansion. Cycle 2 School Readiness funds are earmarked for ‘maintenance of effort’ in currently funded School Readiness programs. The First 5 Sacramento Commission, however, assessed the effectiveness of existing programs, examined more current academic performance data, and opted to use local funds to expand School Readiness programs into targeted areas with large numbers of underserved children. Natomas Unified School District, Galt Joint Union Elementary School District, and River Delta Unified School District are the most recent districts to join our program.

Total Funding: $37.4 million
First 5 Sacramento Staff Contact: Doreen Diehl, (916) 876-6683

School Readiness

What is First 5 Sacramento Doing About School Readiness?

Funded Partners