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While Trey attended preschool, lots of kids in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County <br />Schools do not. Many also lack other resources that help them succeed in school. <br />Kids who enrolled in the Family Success Alliance kindergarten readiness program went from 9 percent to <br />67 percent proficiency in literacy, math and social skills by the end of the summer program. <br />Additionally, the Alliance seeks to address community needs throughout the school year by matching <br />families with the resources they need. <br />Staffed by the Orange County Health Department and funded by the Orange County Social Justice Fund, <br />the group began its work in August 2014. But its programs didn’t start until July, spokesperson Stacy <br />Shelp said. <br />“In the first year, a lot of the work was information gathering,” Shelp said. <br />The group spent the first four months identifying pockets of poverty in Orange County and identifying <br />their needs. This school year, the program is working with two pilot zones, in central Orange County and <br />downtown Chapel Hill. <br />During the school year, the group’s “navigators” work directly with families from these zones to connect <br />them with whatever resources they need. These include tutoring, parenting classes, literacy help and <br />substance abuse counseling. The group partners with local organizations including the Orange County <br />Literacy Council and the Carrboro organization Volunteers for Youth. <br />“I like to say that we’re navigators because we’re guides,” said Beatrice Parker, the program’s Zone 6 <br />navigator. <br />“Parents with jobs and long hours might not be able to investigate the best after-school program <br />themselves,” Parker said. <br />Gattis, who is studying to be a registered nurse, said she is working with the program now to find <br />tutoring for Trey’s older brother and for Trey, who’s adapting well to kindergarten. <br />“I have had no complaints from the teachers — she said she has no idea who that child that I explained <br />was,” Gattis said. <br /> <br /> Read more: http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/11/family-success-alliance-fills-gaps-in- <br />community <br /> <br />