American Falls, United Way gets national attention for early childhood education success story

An EdSurge article, which covers the Read Talk Play initiative and preschool scholarship program in American Falls, has been distributed by more than one hundred news outlets, including the Washington Post, Seattle Times, etc.

The article, titled “How a small town in a red state rallied around universal preschool,” includes details about United Ways providing preschool scholarships that today support nearly 40 percent of the children who attend preschool in American Falls, Idaho.

“It is so incredible to see news on our impact work in early education be so widely shared across the country,” said Tennille Call, Director of Education at United Way. “We have received so much positive feedback from our community about the stories, and our noting that ‘community spirit trumps anyone’s political agenda.’”

United Way supports early learning in American Falls with scholarships and by hosting regular events where parents and children participate together in learning activities.

EdSurge later followed up with a second article, with a question of whether local efforts are the secret to supporting early childcare and education in red states and focused on the early learning collaboratives that have sprung up in communities across Idaho, including ours.