"The Vanda Early Learning Center in Lubbock, TX, sits between two cotton fields, with a bright-blue sign out front and a globe painted on the sidewalk. It's a cheery spot for the children who come here, nearly all of whom qualify for the federal free-lunch program. With its state-endorsed kindergarten-readiness program, it also represents a critical opportunity for them to avoid ending up like the 22 percent of adults over age 25 in Lubbock who don't have a high school diploma.
Zadrian Rodriguez was at high risk of becoming one of those statistics because his mother, Amelia, was struggling to raise three young kids on her own. 'I was working long hours and I didn't have time to sit down with them or read to them,' she says. Like more than half of the families whose children attend Vanda, Rodriguez also didn't have any books at home. And those are huge problems."
Zadrian Rodriguez was at high risk of becoming one of those statistics because his mother, Amelia, was struggling to raise three young kids on her own. 'I was working long hours and I didn't have time to sit down with them or read to them,' she says. Like more than half of the families whose children attend Vanda, Rodriguez also didn't have any books at home. And those are huge problems."