Supporting An Important Priority
The first five years of life are critical to the development of a child’s brain. Babies are born with a brain approximately one-fourth the size of an adult’s. In the first three years of life a child’s brain grows to approximately 80 percent of adult size. By age five, the brain is 90 percent developed.
This early stage of development is essential to social and intellectual growth. From the first hours after birth through preschool, children are curious about the world and eager to learn. During this period children form strong relationships with adults, and their caregivers have the unique opportunity to contribute to their early intellectual development.
The Ginger & Barry Ackerley Foundation makes grants to public and private organizations that enhance the education of young learners in the greater Puget Sound region. The Ackerley Foundation focuses on organizations involved in skills support, literacy development, mentoring relationships and programs that connect school and home in order to produce specific and measurable results in early learning.