Elmont Union Free School District

The Basics Elmont

Logo for The Basics Elmont, featuring a family illustration and text.

The Basics Elmont is our Birth to age 5 initiative launch in November of 2022 because we recognize the need to establish a strong foundation for student success. Students who are unable to read on grade level by third grade are four to six times less likely to graduate high school. We are committed to ensuring that our students are reading by the third grade! This initiative will help us reach our potential students before they even enter our school buildings.

The Basics, Inc. was founded by economist and Harvard University faculty director of the Achievement Gap Initiative, Dr. Ron Ferguson who understood there is a cognitive skill gap between children of different races, ethnicities, and parental education levels. The goal is to “bolster brain development for social, emotional, and cognitive skill building among children from birth to age 3 as a sturdy foundation for school readiness across whole communities”. If we maximize our children's learning and brain development when they are young, we can dramatically increase the possibility that they will achieve their hopes and dreams for a brighter future.

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