Ready to Learn

In Indian River County, the road to third-grade reading proficiency doesn’t begin in kindergarten—it begins far earlier. With deep conviction and bold coordination, the community has embraced a simple but urgent truth: we don’t have brains that read—we build them.

‍This episode lifts the curtain on a movement that starts before birth. Leaders at The Learning Alliance and Indian River County Schools have united around the idea that creating lifelong learners means supporting families and children from prenatal stages through age five. They are building a culture where being kindergarten ready is not a hope, it’s a shared responsibility.

You’ll explore:

• Educating the Community: How awareness campaigns help every neighbor understand their role in a child’s learning journey.

• Prenatal to Kindergarten Support: Wraparound care for mothers, caregivers, and families.

• The Heckman Equation: Why investing early yields the greatest return—for children and society.

• Preschool as a Public Good: Expanding access to high-quality early education that lays the foundation for literacy.

Because if we want to reach 90% reading proficiency, we can’t just focus on the finish line. We have to start where learning truly begins—in the arms of a parent, in the first thousand days, in the stories we tell our youngest children before they can even speak.