May 2022 - Ready for School, Ready for Life

Staff profile: Stormi Covington

Network Director Stormi Covington joined Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) in July 2019. She was familiar with Ready Ready’s mission from a previous role at Greensboro Housing Authority. “After I left the agency, I saw the position open at Ready Ready and I’ve been here ever since.”

Covington’s work at Ready Ready includes working with community partners, systems, and individuals to align services in Guilford County. She put it simply, “I’m a connector.”

Covington researches programs for connections with her godson P.J. in mind. He was born a week after she started her career at Ready Ready. “Researching programs for children ages 0-3 came naturally for me as I watched P.J. grow and develop. Now we are expanding our work for children ages 3-5 and he’s right in that sweet spot.”

The Covingtons celebrate with their godson P.J. as an infant.

Much of Covington’s work at Ready Ready focuses on finding gaps in services and identifying solutions. She and her team have built an Agency Finder database with contact information and up to 40 data points for Ready Ready’s Integrated Data System. It will allow proven program staff members to seamlessly help families connect with the resources, information, and support they need. A version is also available to the general public by way of the Community Portal.

“My friends are surprised when I say I started with a spreadsheet,” Covington said. “My nonprofit colleagues understand that some areas of Guilford County have more resources than others, and not everyone has the same access. When it comes to navigating all these resources, it can take a lot of strategies to figure out what’s offered and what you need as a parent.”

One thing Covington recommends to all parents is The Basics Guilford. “When P.J. came along, I started talking with his parents, my friends, about The Basics. I taught them what I had learned and encouraged them to utilize them right from the start. It’s been amazing to see P.J. grow and develop.”

Partner Spotlight: Care Management for At-Risk Children

Guilford County’s Health Department has a number of programs designed to support children and their families with healthy development. One of them is Care Management for At-Risk Children, also known as CMARC. That’s a recent name change – you may know them better as Care Coordination for Children (CC4C.)

“CMARC is a team of nurses and social workers who provide comprehensive care management for children from birth up until their 5th birthday,” said Deborah Goddard, CMARC’s supervisor. “A lot of the work we do is in direct correlation to the work Ready Ready does. We help prepare children for school readiness by helping parents identify and address any learning or developmental concerns they may have about their child. In addition to developmental concerns, the children in the CMARC program must have a chronic health condition or be impacted by Social Determinants of Health. Care Managers also help families that are being impacted by challenging levels of toxic stress and trauma.

One of the things that make our program unique is that we have always provided home visits for any CMARC family that desires a home visit. It’s so important to engage families in their own environments as it can often provide valuable insight about the child and family’s needs that might not otherwise be obtained. Goddard said that Guilford County families can participate in the CMARC program at no cost to the family as there are no income guidelines to be in the CMARC program. Children are referred by various sources such as pediatric offices, hospitals, the Department of Social Services (child protective services/ foster care), preschools/child care centers, and other community agencies.

CMARC care managers along with the parent work together to develop a care plan and goals that are tailored to meet the child and family’s needs. CMARC care managers also encourage parents to develop strong relationships with their child’s medical providers and work to link families to various community resources. “While it’s the child that is our primary focus, we try to help the whole family,” Goddard said. “If the parent needs housing or a job resource, or services for domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse, or transportation, we try to help the parent get linked to the organizations that can help them. As many studies have shown, the parent’s needs and behavior often have a direct influence on the child’s overall development and wellbeing.”

With 27 years of community services experience and visiting families in their homes, Goddard said she has an immense appreciation for the parenting journey and each family’s individual path. Goddard also stated she is extremely grateful to lead a team of skilled and professional care managers who are dedicated to serving approximately 650 CMARC families in our community each month.

The Pritzker Children’s Initiative Supports Ready for School, Ready for Life’s Equity Focus

(Greensboro, N.C., May 12, 2022) – Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) has received a $50,000 grant from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative to support the organization’s three-year Equity Action Plan. The implementation of this plan will ensure consistent, equitable practices across the organization.

Ready Ready’s mission is to create a connected, innovative system of care for our community’s youngest children and families while eliminating racial disparities. We know that racial disparity is a driving force in the negative outcomes families experience in health, education, and their overall well-being. Core values at Ready Ready include a commitment to being family-led, equity-driven, and inclusive and responsive to evidence.

“Through the continued partnership with the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, Ready Ready aims to move our racial equity work from design to implementation and become a model for other organizations in North Carolina and the nation to follow,” said Charrise Hart, Ready Ready’s chief executive officer.

Ready Ready’s Equity Action Plan includes strategies to build a culture of belonging and deepening equitable family engagement in Ready Ready as well as the development of a plan and set of practices to engage partners in Ready Ready’s racial equity work. This, combined with strategies to lead ongoing conversations around equity issues with staff, parents, committees, and board, will support the shift of power to families.

“At Ready Ready, we know that to achieve population-level change and eliminate disparities, we must be intentional in our racial equity work,” said Heather Adams, interim vice president of public will building. “Racial disparities persist and result in poor outcomes for far too many families in Guilford County. Implementation of our Equity Action Plan is core to our mission and to the success of this system of care for Guilford County families.”

The Equity Action Plan builds on a previous Pritzker Children’s Initiative grant that enabled Ready Ready to deliver racial equity training to all levels of our organization and develop an Equity Statement.

Media contact: Stephanie Skordas, Director of Marketing and Communications

Ready for School, Ready for Life Receives Lincoln Financial Foundation Grant

(Greensboro, N.C., May 12, 2022) – Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) is honored to receive a $25,000 grant from the Lincoln Financial Foundation to promote early literacy and kindergarten readiness for Guilford County children.

The work accomplished through the Lincoln Financial Foundation has never been more important. Kindergarten readiness continues to decline in Guilford County. In 2018-19 40% of all Guilford County kindergarteners met expected language and literacy skills at the beginning of the year. In 2021-22 just 27% of all Guilford County kindergarteners were considered proficient in those skills.

“The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant gaps in learning, and learning loss will continue to have a dramatic impact,” said Charrise Hart, Ready Ready’s chief executive officer. “The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is more important than ever. Through our partnership with Lincoln Financial Foundation, Ready Ready will continue its efforts to support and equip our youngest learners with the tools and skills necessary to become successful readers by the end of third grade.”

Reading on grade level by third grade is an early indicator for future success such as high school graduation and entering the workforce. Ready Ready’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading includes three components.

· The Basics Guilford: The Basics is a messaging tool to promote early language and literacy development. Ready Ready staff members have trained more than 600 adults focused on early literacy using the Basics Guilford.

· Active Reading: Active Reading is a framework to build language and literacy skills with toddlers, preschoolers, and beyond. Since the inception of Active Reading, Ready Ready has trained more than 1,000 adults in Guilford County.

· Book distribution: Ready Ready has partnered with organizations like BackPack Beginnings to deliver more than 7,000 books to young children in Guilford County.

The Lincoln Financial Foundation has a focus on human services, education, and financial wellness. “Our education focus area supports organizations that help students reach their learning potential and prepare them for critical transitions in their education,” said Nancy Rogers, senior vice president of corporate responsibility, and president of the Lincoln Financial Foundation. “We fund programs that strengthen critical learning skills, improve academic performance, and prepare students for college and careers.”

Ready Ready’s mission is to create a connected, innovative system of care for Guilford County’s youngest children and their families. It is a long-term effort aimed at population-level change. The first phase has focused on infants and toddlers to ensure all Guilford County families receive the support and resources they need for social-emotional, physical, language/communication, cognitive, and learning development. The second phase, which launches this year, focuses on children ages three to five.

Media contact: Stephanie Skordas, Director of Marketing and Communications