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United Way of Central Alabama early education — (L-R) Ladye, Amber and Jasmine of UWCA’s Early Education team. *(Nathan Watson / Bham Now)*

On average, across Central Alabama’s six counties, there are fewer than five childcare centers for every 1,000 children between the ages of three and five.

Amber, Ladye and Jasmine of United Way of Central Alabama’s (UWCA) Early Childhood Development and Education team are dedicated to improving childcare experiences for local kids through the programs Success By 6 and Help Me Grow.

Here’s how they do it.

Meet the United Way early education team

Program Director of Early Education at United Way of Central Alabama early education — Amber Whitfield, Program Director of Early Education *(Nathan Watson / Bham Now)*

Amber Whitfield oversees the Success By 6 and Help Me Grow programs. In this role, she coordinates training for childcare centers focused on raising classroom standards and introducing new teaching tools and methods of student engagement. She also constantly studies and interprets data to measure the results of the programs aimed at continuous improvement.

“United Way is a great organization to work for. What we do in our communities—the children that we serve, the people we work with—it just feels good to know that we’re really making a difference.”
Amber Whitfield, Program Director of Early Education, United Way of Central Alabama

school readiness specialist at United Way of Central Alabama early education — Ladye Franklin, School Readiness Specialist *(Nathan Watson / Bham Now)*

Ladye Franklin conducts classroom and individual assessments for Pre-K children and works alongside teachers on developmentally appropriate activities with the kids.

“I was in the classroom right after college, but then I started opening childcare centers for corporations.

I finally figured out that I wanted to make the biggest impact on the largest group of children that I could, but not necessarily as a teacher. This particular position came up, and now I’ve been here for 20 years, and I love it.

I believe in United Way’s mission of coming together and serving where there is a need.”
Ladye Franklin, School Readiness Specialist, United Way of Central Alabama

Help Me Grow Care Coordinator at United Way of Central Alabama early education — Jasmine Johnson, Help Me Grow Care Coordinator *(Nathan Watson / Bham Now*)

Jasmine Johnson works with families who have concerns about their child’s developmental milestones and connects them to providers for developmental screenings.

“As the Help Me Grow Care Coordinator, I love working with families because it is a great feeling, especially when we are the reason why challenges for their kids turn into better situations for the rest of their lives, and we always love to hear the progress a child has made.”
Jasmine Johnson, Help Me Grow Care Coordinator, United Way of Central Alabama

UWCA’s childhood development connects resources with needs

Success By 6

United Way of Central Alabama UWCA early education, Help Me Grow — Ladye brings hands-on activities to classrooms across Central Alabama. (UWCA)

Success By 6 transforms basic childcare into a high-quality early-learning experience by:

Facilitating “best practice” early-learning standards in 50+ Pre-K classrooms
Giving teachers side-by-side technical assistance + professional development training
Providing free school supplies to thousands of children

“We look at all five domains of Early Childhood Development,* and when doing an activity with the classroom, I try to make sure that it touches on one or more of those domains. Instead of ‘let’s just color something.'”
Ladye Franklin, School Readiness Specialist, United Way of Central Alabama

*The five domains of Early Childhood Development are:

Adaptive development
Cognitive development
Communication + language development
Physical + gross motor and fine development
Social and emotional development

In 2024, Success By 6:

Served 1,220 Pre-K children
Engaged with 74 Pre-K classrooms
Distributed almost 10,000 books, valued at almost $27,000

Help Me Grow Alabama

Help Me Grow Alabama is a free resource for parents to answer child development questions and conduct age-appropriate developmental screenings for children ages 0-8.

Help Me Grow Care Coordinators:

Engage with early intervention programs, Children’s Policy Councils + other organizations
Work with child healthcare providers to educate professionals about early childhood developmental surveillance + screening
Identify gaps + barriers to connecting families, collects + analyzes data to identify needs
Effectively connect families to resources

In 2024, Help Me Grow Alabama:

Served 414 families, including 505 children
Conducted 50 developmental screenings
Made 440 referrals to connect families with local organizations

Fun fact: Eight of the Success By 6 sites have been awarded grants through the Early Learning Acceleration Institute (ELAI), an initiative that helps childcare providers increase their capacity to offer high-quality early-learning programs.