OUR MISSION
Breaking Barriers to Early Learning
If you imagine a bird in a cage, they can still fly around, but only to the limit of what the cage allows. When you remove that barrier, the sky becomes the limit! This is the hope for the families in our program – that parents will experience less barriers in supporting their child’s education so that they have a stronger opportunity of being successful later in life.
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Across the country, low-income and minority children are falling behind other children in learning. This difference, known as the achievement gap, can begin as early as 2 years old and impact the child’s future success in school. But this isn’t because low-income and minority families don’t want their children to succeed. Sometimes, families face roadblocks, such as minimal access to books and leisure time, making it more difficult to support their child's education.
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UnC.A.G.ED is committed to breaking some of these barriers by providing families with book resources and all the tips and tricks they need to feel empowered to support their children!
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
In 2017, The Ohio State University established the President's Prize as the highest honor bestowed upon students dedicated to social change. The prize comes with a living stipend and start up funding for a project that seeks to positively impact the community. Simone Bacon won the 2020 President's Prize for her project, UnC.A.G.ED (Changing the Achievement Gap in Education). It is Simone's hope that through UnC.A.G.ED, low-income, disadvantaged children across Columbus, Ohio will cease to experience barriers in attaining a quality education.
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Simone graduated from The Ohio State University in December 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. She is passionate about eliminating racial and social economic health disparities by focusing on social factors that impact health, like education, financial stability, and neighborhood environment. While at The Ohio State University, Simone has had a variety of experiences that sparked her interest in early education and a desire to enact change through UnC.A.G.ED. She participated in research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through Morehouse College Project IMHOTEP and the CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program. She also interned at the Ascension Southeast Michigan Infant Mortality Program through the University of Michigan Summer Enrichment Program. On campus, she served as a Student Ambassador for the OSU College of Public Health, helping to recruit incoming students to the program. Lastly, she served as a manager in the Keith B. Key Center for Student Leadership and Service in the Ohio Union as well as President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Theta Chapter. She is extremely excited to work to have a positive impact on babies in Columbus, Ohio!
"You cannot make people learn. You can only provide the right conditions for learning."
-Vince Gowmon, Author
