Local Goals and Targets:

Opportunities to Learn and Grow

• Expand access to affordable, accessible, quality early childhood education for all children in Charleston.
• Launch an Early Childhood Scholarship program that would provide needy families scholarships to enroll their child in high quality child care and early education programs.

Actions/Innovations: Mayor Riley will champion and advocate for quality, affordable and accessible child care and funding for four year old kindergarten programs, as well as increased funding and improved quality for Early Head Start and the expansion of early education programs to reach more low income and at-risk children. 

» Learn more about Mayor Riley's early childhood initiatives

• Ensure all children and youth have access to quality, age-appropriate enrichment programs during afterschool and out-of-school time.
• Expand by 25% the number of community learning centers and out-of-school time programs serving elementary school age children. 
• Implement the “New Day for Learning,” a Charles Stewart Mott Foundation initiative that redesigns the education of children to include collaboration across sectors, designing more learning time and active hands-on-learning for all our children.  Develop two pilot school sites (one middle and one elementary) with cutting-edge, innovative education strategies for the Charleston New Day for Learning model.
• Launch a pilot program for middle school students that incorporates intervention strategies such as career coaches, mentoring/tutoring, teaching soft skills, preparing students for the transition to high school, and extended learning time.  This pilot program will operate at the following schools and locations: Sanders Clyde; Fort Johnson Middle School; Boys and Girls Club; and St. Julian Devine Community Center.

Actions/Innovations: Mayor Riley will cultivate partnerships and align human, financial, and in-kind resources of businesses, civic groups, nonprofits and churches to provide quality afterschool/out-of-school time programs, and will continue to collaborate with the Charleston County School District to transform local schools into “community learning centers.”  The city will also gain youth input by conducting focus groups with middle and high school students to develop age-appropriate afterschool activities.  The mayor seeks to build a citywide out-of-school time system that coordinates program options, raises standards, enhances professional development, expands choices, aligns with in-school learning and removes barriers to participation.

» Learn more about Mayor Riley's afterschool initiatives

• Increase graduation rates 50% by 2010.
• Increase the number of internship and career education opportunities for middle and high school students.
• Provide technical assistance to 10 businesses on establishing internship and apprenticeship programs.
• Inventory city departments to identify assets of time, expertise, and resources that could be utilized in a collaborative partnership with neighborhood schools using innovative approaches of facility usage, sharing/co-locating staff and reallocating resources. 

Actions/Innovations: To accomplish its education goals, the city will partner with the school district, business community, and Communities In Schools on innovative prevention, intervention and recovery plans to reduce the dropout rate and ensure all students graduate from high school.  The city will also develop service learning projects as a tool for high school dropout prevention and raise awareness of the need for businesses and the community to support students at risk of dropping by organizing a roundtable with businesses and the media, implementing a marketing campaign to get the message out, and advocating for the development of early intervention strategies.

» Learn more about Mayor Riley's education initiatives

A Safe Neighborhood to Call Home

• Implement the mentor lunch buddy program in all 19 elementary schools in the City of Charleston by 2010. 
• Increase the number of low-income at-risk elementary school students participating in Camp Hope Summer Enrichment program.
• Implement the YEScarolina Biz Camps, a 3-week summer program of entrepreneurship training for 15 students at five schools, West Ashley Middle, St. Andrew's Middle, Burke Middle, Haut Gap Middle, and James Island Middle in the summer of 2009. 

Actions/Innovations: The city will assist in the recruitment, placement, and training of mentor lunch buddies and continue the city’s partnership with two downtown elementary schools' lunch buddy program, in which city employees receive time off twice a month to mentor a student during their lunch time.  Camp Hope is a free summer camp run during the evening hours, 6:00-9:00 p.m., that Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullin started in 2007. The camp runs five days a week for five weeks during the summer months.  The city also plans to continue to develop strategies to address neighborhood violence, increase opportunities for youth to be engaged in their communities through service learning, and civic engagement projects, and provide youth with leadership development and training.

» Learn more about the city's youth leadership opportunities

A Healthy Lifestyle and Environment

• Advocate and work toward ensuring every child has health insurance and access to quality health, dental care, wellness, and nutrition. 
• Improve and expand access to health information such as drugs, violence, and family issues for youth.
• Promote and support funding for school-based mental health counselors, a critical need cited by youth in the 2007 Charleston Area Youth Master Plan focus groups. 

Actions/Innovations: The city will develop collaborative and sustainable efforts to support physical activity, healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle for children and families. In particular, the city will develop a Web page and tool kit to raise awareness and provide a portal for information on ways to combat childhood obesity.  The city will also initiate policy changes that impact healthy eating habits and nutrition; promote city-sponsored events to ensure activities promote healthy lifestyles; strengthen the city’s health and wellness programs for city employees; and improve parks, green spaces, and recreation programs.

» Learn more about the Charleston Area Youth Master Plan

A Financially Fit Family in Which to Thrive

• Ensure greater financial stability for families by promoting the Earned Income Tax Credit, connecting more families to the Financial Management Programs of Family Services, Inc., and providing affordable housing to more eligible low-income residents.

Actions/Innovations: The City of Charleston sponsors several initiatives to promote homeownership, expand access to affordable housing, and reduce homelessness.

» Learn more about Charleston's affordable housing initiatives