Great We Grow

Preparing Our Youngest Children for Kindergarten & Life

Education starts at birth, with 90% or more of all brain development occurring before age 5. When children are ready for kindergarten and can read proficiently in third grade, they are more likely to graduate from high school, earn higher wages, stay out of the criminal justice system and live healthier lives. But today, less than half our children in Hillsborough County are not prepared for kindergarten.

About Great We Grow

Great We Grow is a strategic collaboration, funded and facilitated by the Conn Memorial Foundation, to reimagine how we support our youngest children from the moment they are born. We bring together families, preschools, elementary schools, out-of-school time providers and community partners to break down silos and improve children’s educational journey.

Great We Grow is a replicable partnership model that’s designed to bring positive outcomes to more communities. Today, we are funding partners in three areas to improve kindergarten readiness and transition:

• Through the Tampa Preschool Partnership, partner schools work together to help families choose the best option for their child’s elementary school and ensure they’re ready when they start kindergarten.
• Pilot projects in Town and Country and Southshore empower local schools to work together to develop better feeder patterns from preschool to elementary school and improve kindergarten readiness.

2022-23 Great We Grow Highlights

• As part of the Tampa Preschool Partnership (TPP), 86% of students at Sunrise and 91% at Rosa Valdez Cornerstone were at or above level on the end-of-year STAR assessment. Thirty-nine percent of children from partner schools went to a B-rated elementary school or higher, and 90% went to a C-rated school or higher as we strive to reach 100%.

• In Town and Country, partner schools are working to ensure at least 90% of VPK students and 50% of PEEPS students are ready for kindergarten before they begin school in 2026 based on STAR assessment results. During the 2022-23 school year, 3 of 5 4-year-old programs had students who were between 86% and 95% at or above level on the end-of-year STAR assessment. With a focus on strengthening the educational pipeline from preschools to public elementary schools, the 4-year-old stay rate was the strongest since program inception at Morgan Woods (76%) and Town and Country (70%). Additionally, the kindergarten enrollment contribution rate from partners is exceeding program objectives.
• In Southshore, children at Corr Elementary improved their kindergarten proficiency from 36% at the beginning of the year to 57% at the end of the year based on the STAR assessment.

Explore Our Partners’ Impact

Meet our Great We Grow partners, see their strategies and outcomes, and find out what the results mean for future action.