Without Jumpstart's targeted intervention, many children from low-income households would start school significantly behind their middle-income peers. Low-income five year olds display, on average, only one-fourth of the vocabulary of middle-income five year olds. Further, children who are not proficient in reading and writing by third grade are at a significantly higher risk of failing or dropping out of school. These early gaps in academic achievement ultimately follow students into their adult lives, contributing to the sobering reality that more than 29 percent of America's current workforce is functionally illiterate.

Giving At-Risk Students a Competitive Advantage
Designed to help close the early learning achievement gap facing low-income students, Jumpstart engages college students and community volunteers in mentoring activities that help every child enter school prepared to succeed. Volunteers commit to work with a preschool student weekly throughout the academic year for a total of 300 hours, helping to build the child's language, literacy, and social and emotional skills.

Jumpstart's expansive network of early education partners provides the space and materials that enable volunteers to build relationships with children while they work through Jumpstart's early education curriculum. This unique, active learning curriculum is founded on results-driven teaching techniques and the latest research in early education that help young children develop academically. Evaluations of children's progress while engaging in the program curriculum demonstrate that Jumpstart preschoolers make greater developmental advances than their non-participant peers.

Deploying Passionate Volunteers
With her experiences as a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Jesse knew the importance of helping children become the best they can be. After attending an informational meeting that showcased the Jumpstart's impact in her neighborhood, Jesse realized she could become part of the solution. For the next year, she mentored Kyrell, a student at Children's Services in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Kyrell spoke only Spanish, but Jesse worked with him weekly to improve his English and literacy skills.

After meeting Kyrell's mother, Jesse wanted to become more involved in the homes of children Jumpstart serves. Now working as a family coordinator, she meets with parents, and, by involving them in their children's learning experiences, helps close the gap between what happens in the home and what children learn in the Jumpstart program. Jesse also plans to become a certified early childhood educator. "I've decided that there can be no one better than someone like me, who has a passion for children and the experience to back it up."

Scaling Jumpstart's Impact Nationally
Through direct service with preschool students, Jumpstart is committed to creating broad, sustainable change in early childhood education and in low-income communities across the country. Since its founding in 1993, Jumpstart has served more than 70,000 preschool children through millions of hours of volunteer mentoring and tutoring in communities across America. Jumpstart's President James Cleveland plans to expand the organization's potential to drive systemic change by focusing on key urban communities, building strong local parterships, and creating a compelling level of service.