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As families across America prepare to send their kids back to school, consider the millions of children around the world who are missing out on learning – because of who they are or where they live.

Failed by poor school systems, deprived of learning by war or disaster, or kept from school because of poverty or gender, the world’s most vulnerable children are missing out on education – and being left behind.

Without an education, these children – especially girls – have little hope of a skilled job, a career or an independent life. Many will be unable to improve their lives and will remain trapped in a cycle of pervasive poverty that will affect their lives, their families and their communities. 

Save the Children is working every day all around the world, including in the most dangerous, toughest-to-reach places. We’re delivering education programs that give children the foundations for success in learning, so they can build a better, brighter future – starting with school.

 To achieve maximum impact, our programs focus in these key areas:

• Early childhood care and development
  We create safe and stimulating preschool environments where very young children build the cognitive foundations for a life of learning.
• Basic education
  We improve access to education and develop programs that help children develop literacy and numeracy skills essential for success in school and life. We work to keep schoolchildren healthy, so their learning isn’t interrupted. And we encourage learning outside the classroom to give families and communities the chance to participate in the education journey and benefit from its opportunities.
• Education in emergencies
  We provide education in the middle of humanitarian crises, including conflict, to ensure children don’t miss out on the critical opportunity to learn.

 In 2017, we directly reached over 9.7 million children through our global education programs. Here are some highlights:

• Early learning success
  The early years are critical in shaping children’s development, as well as their lifelong capacity for learning. But how do we know if programs intended to support young children are working? Save the Children’s International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) tool measures program impact, providing evidence on the development of children ages 3.5 to 6. Together with partners, we’ve implemented this powerful tool in 55 countries, making it available free of charge to reach as many early learners as possible.
• Boosting literacy
  Around the world, nearly 400 million school-age children can’t read or write. Literacy Boost is Save the Children’s proven response to this crisis. We help children learn by training teachers, parents and community members to support literacy, both in and out of the classroom. The success of Literacy Boost has made it one of our most widely implemented programs. We now provide Literacy Boost in 36 countries, with evidence showing that participating students improve reading comprehension by an average of 30 percent, and they’re up to 40 percent more likely to progress to third grade.
• Boosting numeracy
  Early exposure to math helps children achieve later success in school. Yet over half the world’s school-age children lack basic numeracy skills in first grade. The problem: too much reliance on memorization, repetition and workbooks. Through our new approach, Numeracy Boost, we emphasize learning through interactive activities and games, so students can understand and explain their reasoning. Because of you, we’re now providing the program in five countries, helping children, especially the most disadvantaged, improve number and operations skills by an average of 25 percent. And we’ll be expanding into three more countries in the next two years.

Thank you for choosing to support Save the Children and the learning lifeline that means the difference between a life trapped in relentless poverty and a life of limitless opportunity. By supporting Save the Children, you are helping ensure every child – no matter who they are or where they live – has the opportunity to learn. Every last child.