Why Now?

With the completion of our 2024-26 Strategic Plan, and five years of data and feedback from our pilot phase across seven San Mateo County communities, The Big Lift is positioned to make exciting updates to the initiative.

The early childhood education field as a whole is still recovering from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts it had on families, providers, and the already-fragile early childhood infrastructure. At the same time the larger early learning landscape is changing with historic new investments in early learning, including increased funding for the California State Preschool Program and the passage of universal transitional kindergarten (UTK).

The Big Lift has a critical opportunity to chart a path for the next three years. We are evolving our program model, governance, and organizational structure to make the maximum impact on third grade reading levels in San Mateo County.