Initiatives

In August 2010 Smart Beginnings Rappahannock Area announced it received a $150,000 grant from the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF), a statewide public-private partnership to improve early childhood education and school readiness in the region,

Smart Beginnings Rappahannock Area (SBRA) is a partnership of more than 40 public and private agencies, businesses and individuals working toward a common goal: children arrive at school healthy and prepared to succeed in school and in life.  SBRA serves Planning District 16, which includes the City of Fredericksburg and Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties.

Funds for this grant will support SBRA’s ongoing efforts to build partnerships with Fredericksburg area business and community leaders and increase awareness about the importance of providing our youngest citizens, children from birth to age five, with quality early care and education to better ensure their success in school and our region’s future workforce.

These grant funds, along with matching contributions from local community investors such as GEICO; McQ Inc.; SimVentions, Inc.; Millennium Engineering & Integration; Fredericksburg Parent & Family Magazine; Rappahannock United Way; and The PNC Foundation, will enable SBRA to fund three school readiness initiatives in Planning District 16.

SBRA’s initiatives include:

  • Delivering Al’s Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices, a social and emotional development program, to preschools and early learning centers. 
     
  • Implementing the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, a childhood developmental screening tool that identifies strengths or possible concerns and educates parents about developmental milestones.
     
  • Increasing the number of preschools and childcare centers participating in the Virginia Star Quality Initiative (VSQI), a voluntary program that assesses, improves and communicates the level of quality in early care and education settings.

Funding Sources
Impact Workforce Readiness

Did You Know?

  • The Virginia Star Quality Initiative was created to provide a consistent way to distinguish the level of quality in early education programs, allowing parents to make more informed choices.
     
  • Participation in the Virginia Star Quality Initiative and the award of a one-star or higher rating reflects a center’s choice to raise the bar in commitment to quality beyond expectation or requirement.
     
  • The experiences a child receives in the first five years can make a difference for a lifetime.
     
  • 90% of a child’s brain is developed before reaching kindergarten which means that early childhood programs and positive interaction with parents and caregivers are critical to school achievement and life success.
     
  • In the first few years of life, 700 new neural connections are formed every second through the interaction of a child’s genes and experiences. These connections build the brain architecture—the foundation upon which all later learning, behavior and health depend.