Each Child. Every Community.

The Healthy & Resilient Communities Initiative (HRCI) at the NC Partnership for Children (NCPC) has made significant strides over the past three years. Supported by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, HRCI leverages Smart Start’s deep connections across North...

Lending libraries are invaluable community resources, offering families and educators access to high-quality educational tools and materials that might otherwise be out of reach. Smart Start of Pender County has long championed early learning, and its Executive Director, Connie...

Moving to a new community with young children is challenging, especially without a network of family or friends. When Maribel Strachan moved to Person County, North Carolina, in 2012, she quickly realized the need for structured activities and support...

By Amy Stephens Cubbage, MS, JD Imagine a North Carolina in which every child has the resources and support to thrive and enter kindergarten ready to succeed—this is the vision that has driven the Smart Start Network for over thirty...

“Law enforcement leaders, like me, recognize that early childhood education programs are among the most powerful weapon to prevent crime and violence. One common thread among many successful students is that early in their lives, they were taught, encouraged...

“Today’s youngest children will be the workforce of tomorrow. It won’t be enough for these future graduates to compete for jobs with others living in North Carolina or the Southeast. Instead, our future economy will be determined by their...

  "Richard is teaching my assistants and me the value of a quality preschool experience and setting. He came into the early childhood inclusion program with his own language, very little eye contact, no interaction among his peers, had never...

"As the nation's leader of public-private partnerships to strengthen early learning outcomes for children, Smart Start has been a primary source of policy, infrastructure and professional development support for early childhood practitioners for over fifteen years." -Susan DeVenny, Executive Director,...

"It was such a delight to see one of our family’s favorite recipes published in the Smartie Pies Cookbook. This recipe is such a joy to make with my three children, but especially with Tykel who loves peaches....

Dear Senator Berger, I want to say a few words about Smart Start and what it means to my family. The most important reason that I am for Smart Start is the fact that it has been vital in the lives...