Are You Ready Freddy?

Hill District Shop ’n Save Supports Ready Freddy

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 19:14:26 +0000

Once again a Ready Freddy is the recipient of a generous donation from the corporate community. This month the program received 10 gift cards from the Hill District branch Shop’n Save.

Our thanks go out to owner Jeff Ross as well as Shop’n Save staffers Melissa and Shannon for making the donation possible.

Cards will be used to encourage parent involvement in partnering Pittsburgh public schools.

Thanks Shop ’n Save!

Connecting Reading with Kindergarten Attendance

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 20:21:50 +0000

Ready Freddy partners with Public Allies Pittsburgh to improve kindergarten attendance. Since reading at grade level is key to academic success, Public Ally Joanna Kemp, assigned to Langley K-8, spearheaded a book drive that enabled each kindergartner to take home 5 books they could call their own.

Fostering Positive Racial Identities

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 20:24:55 +0000

Shannon Wanless, an assistant professor, and Aisha White, a research project manager in the Office of Child Development, were interviewed on 90.5FM WESA-NPR about a new early childhood collaborative group between the University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Public Schools to learn how to better foster positive racial identities. Learn more.

Partnering for Success with Giant Eagle

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 20:15:48 +0000

When Chanel Fields’ daughter started making the honor roll she was convinced that regular kindergarten attendance actually did matter. It was a message she heard from the kindergarten teacher every day, but her daughter’s turnaround really persuaded her. It’s the story she eagerly and proudly later told to a small group of parents at a Ready Freddy kindergarten transition event. In addition to sitting on the kindergarten transition team at the school, she was more than happy to volunteer even more of her time to speak to parents of incoming kindergarteners that evening at Spring Hill elementary. Chanel is just one of the many Pittsburgh Public School parents who received Giant Eagle gift cards for being Ready Freddy parent volunteers.

In the fall of 2013, Giant Eagle Community Relations and Development staff Tina Thompson and Melinda Gaus made possible a very generous donation of $2500 worth of gift cards to the Ready Freddy Pathways to Kindergarten Success project to be distributed to any parent involved in Ready Freddy volunteer work. This fall, Giant Eagle donated another $2500 worth of cards as a way to continue the great work these parents have done in supporting quality kindergarten transition efforts.

Some of the ways the cards have been used:

A leader parent at Langley K-8 School volunteered at every Ready Freddy kindergarten enrollment and transition event, making those experiences more welcoming for new parents.
The Martin Luther King PreK-8 School Parent Nation assembled 1,000 gift bags to be given to every new kindergarten parent participating in Ready Freddy/United Way first day of kindergarten kick-off events hosted at 19 Pittsburgh Public Schools.
A league of parent volunteers from Weil PreK-5 School in the Hill District canvassed public housing communities in that community, encouraging parents to enroll their children in Weil PreK and kindergarten classes.
Parents at Arsenal PreK-5 School participated in focus groups designed to gauge preferred parent communication methods and messaging content for an innovative attendance ‘texting’ effort being piloted through a Ready Freddy/PPS project.
Parents of kindergarteners at Langley participated in interviews as part of an evaluation of the Ready Freddy program at that school, offering useful insights into parent perceptions of kindergarten transition.
Parents connected to Family Support Centers participated in focus groups gauging their family experiences related to race and education as a way to support information gathering for a future Ready Freddy project.

The new batch of cards will be used for similar purposes, as well as for new parent involvement opportunities that may emerge. The Ready Freddy program is grateful to volunteer Andi Fischhoff for staying in contact with Giant Eagle to help make this donation possible and to Melinda Gaus (Tina Thompson has recently retired) for her ongoing support of the program. Warm thanks to Giant Eagle for supporting parent involvement in this critical early education project!

Joanna Kemp Joins the Team

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 16:12:00 +0000

Joanna Kemp comes to the Ready Freddy team as a Pittsburgh native and AmeriCorps Public Ally Apprentice with an interest in education and arts advocacy. She received her Bachelor’s degree in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied modern and contemporary topics and completed a minor in Museum Studies. During her last year at Pitt, she was part of a dynamic team that implemented a pilot program, called The Encounters Project: Art in the City, at a local Pittsburgh public high school. As part of the program she taught classes about public art, helped students create original artwork, and curated an exhibition to display their final work. This teaching experience has inspired and motivated Joanna to seek new and innovative ways to combine the arts and education. With a special interest in community and non-profit work, she was accepted into Public Allies to develop her skills as a non-profit leader. Now as part of the Ready Freddy team she works on attendance at Pittsburgh Langley K-8 which is located in the West End of Pittsburgh. She is working to make connections with parents – calling home when children miss school. She also spends time in the classrooms, working with kids and collecting attendance data, as well as within the community to promote the importance of Kindergarten attendance. And in the spring, Joanna will begin doing parent presentations on kindergarten transition.

Share Kindergarten Facts with Ribbit Cards

admin — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 17:13:31 +0000

Finding a way to begin talking about the importance of Kindergarten can be tough… there’s so much to say and great facts to choose from! To help make conversations both meaningful and fun, Ready Freddy has developed Ribbit Cards (or K-Fact Cards if you’re feeling more formal).

The Kindergarten Facts document has four facts that you can share with parents and families. You can cut them out and distribute them as necessary. The Thanksgiving Break cards offer four activities to do together with your kindergartener.

Try this: We have used Ribbit Cards at parent meetings at schools successfully before. Cut your cards out beforehand and give out the different cards during your parent meeting. Ask parent volunteers to read each fact and then ask those in attendance their thoughts.

Thanksgiving Break Ribbit Cards

Attendance Facts

Kindergarten Facts

Resource: Ready Freddy Door Hanger

admin — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 18:24:44 +0000

Click below to download a sample Door Hanger in Microsoft Word. You can edit it, print it out, and can leave behind when you go door knocking!

Ready Freddy Door Hanger Download

Have You Met Freddy?

admin — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 19:57:57 +0000

Watch this short and fun video, and get to know Freddy! Kindergarten matters, you’ll really be amazed at how quickly children pick up things in a matter of days.

Why Does Kindergarten even Matter?

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 17:56:00 +0000

Aisha White, grandma, mom, and the Director of Ready Freddy Pathways to Kindergarten Success tell us a story about her granddaughter. Kindergarten does matter. You’ll be amazed. Read the full story here.

5 things Freddy loves!

admin — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 15:21:01 +0000

5 things Freddy loves as he hops around the city for kindergarten enrollment awareness month!

Like on Facebook to see more pictures!

Kindergarten, here we come!

5 things Freddy loves! Hop on to kindergarten!