Superintendent’s Message

Who Takes First Steps?

I think when we hear the phrase, “first steps,” we immediately have fond memories of our own children and/or grandchildren taking that initial step. We knew there would be many more to follow and our job was to point them in the right direction. Well, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness is a similar but larger program that serves approximately 30,000 children across the state from birth through age five. Who benefits? The families, their communities, early childhood education providers and most importantly, the children! Established in 1999, First Steps' focus is to prepare all students for success in school, work and life. The by-product is to improve children’s health, to strengthen family units, to expand access to quality childcare and to increase participation in 4K programs.

Over the 19 year history of the program in Anderson County, First Steps has provided $12,289,000 to area providers to support parents and family programs. During the last school year alone, over 1000 books were provided to 122 children through Family Literacy programs.  In addition, 214 children and 272 adults were provided family strengthening skills through some of the First Step programs and 52 children and 50 parents were assisted by 14 teachers/home visitors in their transition to kindergarten programs.

Many of you may already be questioning why we even need a First Steps program. Weren’t our parents tasked with providing those resources and helping us with those transitions? Absolutely! However, the challenges are huge for our young families. The demands for our students to be lined up at the starting gate instead of 30, 50 or 100 yards behind is significant. The more resources and education we can provide for these young families, the more Anderson County wins. Taking advantage of First Steps is a step in the right direction!

Dr. Richard Rosenberger

Mission & Vision