The Richmond-based Virginia Early Childhood Foundation has announced a five-year, $5.4 million pledge from the Danville Regional Foundation to Smart Beginnings Danville-Pittsylvania County, a multi-sector community partnership working to improve school readiness for thousands of young children in south-central and southwest Virginia.

The coalition will use the grant to support initiatives working to ensure that children up to the age of five have access to high-quality early learning experiences in childcare, pre-K classrooms, and at home; improve program quality and enhance childcare workers' skills through the Virginia Star Quality Initiative rating system; provide parent education through partnerships with schools, faith-based organizations, and employers; to implement effective transitions from pre-K programs or home into kindergarten; reduce childhood obesity and improve the overall health of children; and expand the region's tutoring programs to help young children meet or exceed educational standards in grades K-3. The grant includes $2 million to help Danville Public Schools build a new pre-K facility that will serve an additional two hundred four-year-olds by the fall of 2012 and provide shared space so as to fully integrate early childhood initiatives into local school systems.

Smart Beginnings Danville-Pittsylvania County was established in 2008 with funding from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, the state's General Assembly, and VECF to build an infrastructure of quality early learning programs and services in south-central and southwest Virginia.

"With shared strategies, vision, and investments from the DRF, the General Assembly, the private sector and the Tobacco Commission, we have been able to bring Virginia's Smart Beginnings initiatives to nearly every city and county in the south-central and southwest regions," said VECF president Scott L. Hippert. "This collaborative model eliminates duplication, while also promoting strong educational outcomes, cost savings on healthcare and remedial services, and a return up to $17 for every $1 invested."