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 is a parent engagement campaign provides examples of how everyday moments with a young person can become teachable moments. Born Learning is funded locally by United Way of Northern Santa Barbara County....in partnership with Santa Barbara County Family Care Center. Community Action Commission - Head Start  & KSBY TV

Click here to explore the IMPACT of Education on the community - The Common Good Forecaster shows in detail why we must work together toward our 10 year goal to cut the high school drop out rate by 50%

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Imagination Library - Reading to pre-school children is one of the most important things we can do for them. Going into kindergarten prepared, is the first step to enjoying a quality education and on time graduation. The Imagination Library will provide a brand new, age appropriate book, every month from birth to kindergarten, for every child in our county who would like one.

Power Reading Santa Maria

Power Reading Lompoc

Reading Plus - Reading Plus is a web-based reading improvement program that uses innovative technology to provide individualized silent reading lessons for students in second grade or higher.

Reading Plus makes literacy improvement easy for teachers or after school staff implementing the program. The program is flexible and easily accessible from any computer with an internet connection: schools, agencies, workplaces and coffee shops are just some of the possible locations for fun, successful reading improvement

Reading Plus is already producing outstanding results in our community. There are 23 sites currently being implemented throughout Santa Barbara county schools, youth-serving organizations, and after-school programs. Recent results show students are achieving 2-4 grade level improvements in 40-60 sessions of 45 minutes each.

Research Reports

Books from Birth
Research Report

Seizing the
Middle Ground

Solving the California
Drop out Crisis Report

United for Literacy -
Reading Plus Benefits

Videos

United Way and the  countywide United for Literacy initiative are working to cut in half the number of high school dropouts in the next 10 years while at the same time increasing the number of students reading at grade level in every grade.

Solving the California Drop out Crisis Report has been published by the California Dropout Research Project of the University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute.

This policy report examines the dropout crisis facing California schools, with an emphasis on finding solutions to the problem.  The report includes: the nature of the dropout problem (graduate rates, causes of the crisis), costs of inaction as well as costs to the economy and society of absorbing dropouts, analysis of current state efforts to address the problem, policy recommendations (at the state, district and school level), and more. 

Selected Findings: More than 66% of high school dropouts will need to use food stamps at some part of their adult lives (pg. 2). For each cohort of dropouts, the state of California incurs $9.5 billion in crime related costs (pg. 4).

Selected Findings:  Although the California Department of Education estimates a graduation rate of 83% for California, other agencies including the US Department of Education have differing estimates of graduation rates ranging from 65% to 74% (pg. 2). 

Selected Findings:

The graduation rate for African-Americans in California is 57%; Hispanics, 60%; Native Americans, 52%; Asians 84%; Whites 77% (pg. 2).

The most cited reason for dropping out by students in California was failing school, followed by getting a job (pg. 5).