About Us
Smart Beginnings Alexandria/Arlington is a non-profit public-private partnership between Arlington County and the City of Alexandria that provides leadership to create and sustain a comprehensive early care and education system for Northern Virginia.
The purpose of Smart Beginnings Alexandria/Arlington is to ensure that all children, prenatal to eight years, in Arlington and Alexandria, and their families have access to the resources they need to acheive success in school and in life.
The Council serves as a forum for sharing information and identifying needs within the early care and education community for children prenatal to eight years and their families. Smart Beginnings builds bridges between and among agencies and organizations that impact children and families with the long-term outcome of a strong early care and development delivery system that includes: (1) a supportive socio-political context that surrounds the system to produce policy and funding changes, (2) accessible, available and affordable service components that produce high-quality results for children and families, (3) strong and effective connections between components that lead to meaningful communication and collaboration, and (4) a conveyance mechanism that supports families in navigating between and among components across the system.
Smart Beginnings Alexandria/Arlington is composed of designated and at-large representatives from the following areas in each jurisdiction:
Designated: Public school system, health, mental health, SCAN, PIE, Northern Virginia Community College, Head Start/Early Head Start, law enforcement, Northern Virginia Assocaition for the Education of Young Children, Office of Early Childhood Education, Dept. of Human Services, and the juvenile court system.
At-Large: early childhood (including representatives from family child care, home visitation, and other early care and education programs), business/corporate community, faith community, Virginia higher education (4-year institutions), economic development, and parents and community members.
For more information, or if you are interested in becoming involved with Smart Beginnings, contact smartbeginnings@campagnacenter.org or call 703-549-0111, extension 102.
