Originally published February 23, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified February 25, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Editorial
The right hugs for White Center
An influx of attention and resources into the White Center area offers the best remedy yet for the seemingly intractable challenges of poverty and immigration.
An influx of attention and resources into the White Center area offers the best remedy yet for the seemingly intractable challenges of poverty and immigration.
The King County neighborhood South of Seattle contends with financially strapped schools and large numbers of limited-English-speaking families.Assistance comes in the form of recently announced public-private initiatives, from early learning to adult English classes.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Thrive by Five, a public-private partnership, are behind the White Center Early Learning Initiative, which will include a new early-learning center. The effort offers an on-the-ground complement to Washington state's early-learning efforts, launched after Gov. Christine Gregoire created a department for that purpose.
With money, initiatives will now include outreach to families in their homes, free prenatal care and childbirth specialists fluent in languages from Somali and Spanish to Mandarin and Vietnamese. Home visits by nurses and teachers provide a bridge between services and families unsure of how to navigate them.
Government and private entities together present an impressive show of force. This is the case with White Center. King County Executive Ron Sims' push to eliminate racial and economic disparities plays a role here. County nurses, visiting expectant mothers and mothers of infants, will look for those at higher-than-average risk of having health problems or learning disabilities and link them with services. Early intervention is key.
There's more. A $600,000 national literacy grant is headed to three schools. Reading is key to academic success and almost every school district has a literacy program — or several at every school. These efforts are expensive and hard to sustain in economically struggling districts such as the Highline School District, which serves White Center.
The three elementary schools — White Center Heights, Beverly Park and Mount View — will use part of the money on English language and literacy classes for parents. Brilliant move: Parents gain skills and forge closer ties with their children's schools.
The timing of attention and investment in White Center couldn't be better or more welcomed.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
nwautos
Associated Press Study: Fatal crashes down in Washington Last year Washington's roads were the scene of the fewest fatal crashes since 1955. According...
Post a comment
nwjobs
Post a comment
Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Five reasons to stick with a job you hate -- for now
Post a comment
- Alaska Air dropping Jones Soda beverages, going back to Coca-Cola
- Man found shot dead in pickup truck in Seattle
- Seattle is first U.S. stop for Picasso exhibit
- Husky Football Blog | Pac-10 expansion to get consideration over next year
- State Senate votes to clear way for tax increases
- Idol Confessions | "American Idol" hopeful from Seattle didn't make it to Hollywood afterall
- Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
- Nicole Brodeur | Chrisceda Clemmons' house wasn't the only casualty
- Brier Dudley's Blog | Google rolls its own Facebook & Twitter with Gmail "Buzz"
- Sex, drug rumors swirl about N.Y. Gov. Paterson
- Republicans may be no-shows at health-plan summit
278 - Pac-10 expansion to get consideration over next year
249 - State Senate votes to clear way for tax increases
248 - Lee undergoes foot surgery
231 - Obama: GOP and Dems together can spur job growth
210 - Fort Lewis soldier charged with abusing 4-year-old, holding her head in water
193 - Rivals names Martin one of Pac-10's best recruiters
143 - Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
127 - Bus-tunnel attack while guards watched prompts review of Metro security
118 - White House mocks Sarah Palin from podium
91
- Seattle is first U.S. stop for Picasso exhibit
- Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
- 747-8 soars smoothly on first outing
- Wine Adviser | Oregon's quality pinots join the bargain ranks
- Alaska Air dropping Jones Soda beverages, going back to Coca-Cola
- Snap out of your photo funk: How to make sense of all those piles of images
- How clean are those pre-washed salad greens?
- Answers to biggest Olympic TV questions
- Jerry Brewer | Huskies softball pitcher Danielle Lawrie: A star on the field, not in her mind
- Rick Steves' Europe | What's new in Rome and Venice for 2010






