Foundation Joins Business, Government and Civic Leaders to Launch Fairfax Futures

June 9, 2004 – The Freddie Mac Foundation teamed up with Fairfax County government officials, state government, civic and business leaders in launching Fairfax Futures, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening early childhood education programs in the county. An early supporter, the Foundation presented the organization with a planning grant of $60,000 during the kickoff event on June 3.

The Foundation's Dean Klein presents a check to launch Fairfax Futures to Gerald E. Connolly, chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and Todd Rowley, Wachovia & Fairfax Futures board member.

"Early Learning is Good Business" was the theme of the kickoff event, which was billed as a "summit" for both the public and private sectors and hosted by the Washington Business Journal. Speakers described current efforts to improve early childhood education, noted its long-term economic significance and offered opportunities for business and civic leaders to take part in Fairfax Futures: The Fund for Early Learning and School Readiness.

Fairfax Futures will bring together organizations in business, education, philanthropy and government to invest in early learning programs. Through partnerships among these organizations, Fairfax Futures will build on efforts begun in 2003 by Fairfax County's Office for Children to strengthen the knowledge, skills and abilities of the early childhood workforce.

The summit's host, Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, told the attendees that the county “needs a systematic effort to support the preschool experience of our youngest residents."

Emphasizing that success in early education has a measurable payoff, Connolly said: "Every dollar invested in preschool programs ultimately means seven fewer dollars will have to be spent on remediation, welfare payments, unemployment and other compensatory costs."

Connolly pointed to a few statistics that support the need for more investment programs such as Fairfax Futures, including:

• Three and four year olds who were deprived of quality child care were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18 than were children who received quality child care.
• In a recent study of eight immigrant communities in Fairfax County, 20 percent of the respondents reported that poor English skills hurt their children’s performance in schools.
• 1,500 hours of specialized training are required to be a licensed hairdresser in Virginia. To be a teacher or a teacher’s aide in a licensed child care center in Virginia requires only eight hours of training each year.

For more information, visit the Fairfax County Web site.