Jumpstart’s vision is that every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. Over the last 25 years, Jumpstart has trained thousands of college students and older volunteers to foster the development of language, literacy, and social-emotional competencies in young children from low-income communities across the country. Even as we provide the transformative power of our program to tens of thousands of children, we remain acutely aware of the needs of the millions of children in schools and communities in which Jumpstart does not yet serve — children whose earliest experiences position them behind the starting line in the race to success.

Jumpstart firmly believes that the most effective way to unlock the potential of each and every child and disrupt the cycle of persistent poverty in our country is to ensure that high-quality early education, taught by qualified and effective educators, is available to all.

To achieve this, Jumpstart seeks to transform early childhood education by advocating for significant, measurable change in the field. By mobilizing our alumni base and national network of leaders and champions, we are working to advocate for the change needed on the ground. This powerful group has the potential to inspire public support and investment in high-quality ECE through their voices, stories, and experiences.

At Jumpstart, we believe in a full circle approach to early childhood education that recognizes the role of:

• Preschool children, their families, and their communities
• Early educators
• College students and other aspiring early educators
• Volunteers in preschool classrooms

Our Policy Principles

At outlined in Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Kindergarten Preparedness: Jumpstart’s Policy Principles (PDF, 2.5 MB), Jumpstart believes in and advocates for the following:

• Accessible, high-quality early education
• A professional, stable, and well-compensated early education workforce
• Affordable higher education that incorporates valuable workforce training opportunities
• A commitment to national service

Learn more about Jumpstart’s Policy Principles.

We know we can’t accomplish these lofty goals on our own. In addition to support from our alumni and network of leaders and champions, we benefit from our partnerships with Voices for National Service and America Forward to advance a public policy agenda that champions innovative and effective solutions to our country’s most pressing social problems.

Contact Us

For more information about Jumpstart’s policy advocacy initiatives, please contact Mark Reilly, Vice President of Policy & Government Relations, at 857.413.4593 or policy@jstart.org