What We Do

Three goals drive Thrive by Five Washington’s work as the state’s non-profit public-private partnership for early learning:

Goal #1: Help create the environment to support early learning and positive child development

Goal #2: Make effective early learning programs more available

Goal #3: Be a voice for and assist in building early learning systems
Thrive does not provide services directly to children and families but works with partners in communities throughout the state to accomplish its work. We also work closely with the state Department of Early Learning and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to make sure all early learning work is connected to the K-12 system.

Some key pieces of our current work:

    • Partner with KING 5 TV on Learning for Life, a public awareness effort to make sure everyone knows just how important the first five years of life are.

    • Support Thrive Demonstration Communities in White Center and East Yakima, two community-driven efforts that are designed to serve as models for how a community-wide approach to early learning can improve the development of all children birth to age 5 and their readiness to enter school.

    • Help lead the creation of a Statewide Early Learning Plan that will build a statewide early learning system in Washington state over the next decade.

    • Support proven programs and share information with others about effective practices that create high quality learning environments that help create the best bond possible with the children in their lives, promote language development and early literacy skills, and connect early learning programs with the K-12 school system so that children are better prepared to transition to kindergarten.

    • Leverage partnerships across the state, so that we work in coordination to achieve what children in Washington state need.

    • Help support 10 early learning coalitions that work at the local level to raise public awareness about the importance of early learning and help get parents the information and support they need.

    • Field test a voluntary quality rating and improvement system that will ultimately boost the quality of licensed child care and give families more information about licensed child care providers in their communities.