We firmly believe there is no better investment than education, the foundation for success in life.

We see education as a community responsibility, which truly “takes a village.” Our students need an entire team of supporters – parents, teachers and caring adults – to help them succeed in school and in life. And our collaborative efforts are yielding impressive results.

In the last ten years, we have worked with our network of partners on an education coalition to raise the graduation rate in the Cape Girardeau Public Schools by 21%. Children who participate in Read to Succeed possess reading proficiency equal to or greater than the class average. Students involved in our after-school programs and mentoring partnerships demonstrate improved Attendance, Behavior and Course work as tracked by ABC Today through Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

Through the Community Impact Agenda, United Way of Southeast Missouri invests in education at every stage. We focus on early grade literacy to ensure kids can read at grade level by third grade through Read to Succeed; and we intervene in middle and high school through innovative programs that provide mentoring and help feed hungry kids so they can focus on learning. All of these efforts are in place to make sure our students graduate, while providing exposure to higher education and career development. When students recognize they have a support team encouraging them to achieve, they work harder to succeed.

Our work is life-changing, and our kids are counting on it.