Smart from the Start, Inc.

Smart from the Start (Smart) is family support, community engagement and school readiness initiative, that has as its mission to prevent the academic achievement gap among young children living in underserved communities.

Smart empowers families and communities with the tools, resources and support to break cycles of chronic school underachievement and generational poverty.

Smart from the Start works in collaboration with agency partners and stakeholders to:

• expand and strengthen early learning opportunities for children birth to five;
• promote parents' role as their children's first teacher;
• provide services and supports to uplift underserved families;
• build neighborhood will, understanding and capacity to support school readiness.

Smart offers a comprehensive, coordinated set of programs and services for families with young children to support healthy development, including parent-child early education programs, parenting education and family support, adult education, crisis intervention, referrals to vital services, fun and educational programs for caregivers and children, together, in addition to programming geared toward nurturing a community-wide focus on school readiness.