Corporate Champions for Children News
Tip of the hat to Time Warner Cable
The Partnership wishes to thank Time Warner Cable for its donation to support the State of Durham’s Children: Celebrations, Commitments, Challenges. The event, which took place on April 25th at the Carolina Theatre, marked the first public collaboration between public schools, Durham’s Partnership for Children, and the corporate community to develop a systemic plan to enhance Durham’s education system and future workforce. Hundreds of community members in attendance learned about the connection between early childhood education, school readiness, and the ongoing development of a strong workforce in Durham County.
TWC has been a strong supporter of early education initiatives, and this most recent donation highlights their long-standing commitment to the Partnership’s collaborative efforts. We thank TWC for their contribution to this event and for being a model of corporate engaement in our community.
The Herald-Sun Supports 2007 Community Report
Durham's Partnership for Children thanks The Herald-Sun for in-kind support of the 2007 Community Report. The report features the collective work of Durham's Partnership for Children and its funded programs. The special publication appeared in the April 22 editon of the paper and DPfC received nearly 5,000 additional copies to distribute to throughout the community.
Wachovia helps spread the economic impact of child care message
Thanks to Wachovia Corp. and Dave Clark, Vice President Business Banking Group and a DPfC Board Member. Wachovia and Mr. Clark hosted Durham’s Partnership for Children second Corporate Champions for Children event, “A Business Case for Investing in Young Children” at the Herald-Sun Building on March 21st.
Bill Millett of Scope View Strategic Advantage, who formerly lead Economic Development efforts with the Charlotte Chamber of Charlotte, presented a powerful presentation on the importance of corporate engagement in early care and education.
Millet said that having a world-class education system is a key driver in attracting new business to our region. It is that same education system that cultivates our local workforce, sustains our economy, and creates vitality in our community. Early childhood education plays a critical role in that system, yet its importance and link are often overlooked or misunderstood. Our community’s economic success, its global competitiveness and its ability to cultivate future leaders are all contingent upon the support of early childhood initiatives by employers, working parents and business leaders .
Corporate Champions is a consortium of businesses working to better connect the private sector with early childhood education initiatives. Consortium members are from a cross-section of industries, such as Wachovia, IBM, Verizon, Duke University, Duke Energy, Time Warner Cable, Bright Horizons, The Herald-Sun, KB Home, The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, and Cardinal State Bank.
School Readiness: Teachers Talk Event
Experts agree that a critical contributor to school achievement is effective early education programs that ensure that our youngest students arrive at kindergarten ready to learn.
But not only do our children need to be ready for school, our schools must also be ready for our children. With that mutual goal in mind, Durham’s Partnership for Children hosted an event in partnership with the Durham Public Education Network called “School Readiness: Teachers Talk” on May 19th at the Staff Development Center.
The goal of the event was to facilitate discussions between kindergarten teachers and early child care providers on the best collaborative strategies to achieve school readiness.
Superintendent Carl Harris began the program by addressing the group on the role of early education in school success. Participants shared a wide range of ideas, strategies and concerns for improving school readiness in Durham County. These discussions will be compiled and distributed in a community report, but the lively participation and strong turnout made it clear that these
dialogues are only the first step. Durham’s Partnership for Children looks forward to continuing these collaborative discussions and, ultimately, to implement practical strategies for our children’s successful transition to school.
Special thanks to sponsor KB Home. KB Home provided grants for teachers to attend the program, as well as funds for the program materials and breakfast.
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