Educational
PathwaysDiscover how ACF invests in early childhood programs and services, career pathways, and our local schools to help Adirondack children, youth, and learners of all ages thrive.
Our Approach
Ensuring that success is possible from cradle to career
In the Adirondack region, 15% of children under six live in deep poverty, a rate higher than the state average that directly impacts early health, cognitive, and emotional development. Because early disadvantages compound over time, we champion efforts that expand equitable access to early childhood intervention and high-quality early learning. By aligning community resources and supporting programs that focus on the crucial first years of life, we help close development gaps early and lay a strong foundation for lifelong economic mobility.
This focus on equitable opportunity extends through high school and into the workforce. While local graduation rates are high, 23% of youth under 18 live in poverty, and significantly fewer pursue post-secondary education compared to peers in more affluent areas. We work to bridge this gap by supporting pathways to higher education, apprenticeships, and career advancement for both traditional and non-traditional learners. By bringing partners together to help students overcome financial, social, and structural barriers, we help build an environment where every learner can achieve lasting career success.
Community Leadership
Strategies for Supporting Educational Pathways
Adirondack Birth to Three Alliance
The Adirondack Birth to Three Alliance is a network of a broad range of early childhood service providers, families, business owners, community leaders, and voters who work together to build a more accessible, sustainable, and comprehensive early childhood system in our region. We connect families to essential services and support, helping them navigate local resources to ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed.
Help Me Grow
Help Me Grow Adirondacks promotes early childhood development by connecting families to vital local resources and free screening tools that identify developmental delays before school begins. This proven model meets families directly in everyday community spaces to track key physical, social, and cognitive milestones. Help Me Grow works to close development gaps before they widen, establishing a strong foundation for lifelong learning and economic mobility across the region.
Stand Up for Child Care
We’ve been hard at work bridging the gap between child care and regional economic stability. Building on our Stand Up for Child Care efforts, we are collaborating with Warren County Economic Development Corporation with the support of the Rockefeller Family Fund, to engage business and economic development leaders. This effort treats child care not just as a family issue, but as essential infrastructure for a thriving workforce.
Career Pathways
With support from generous donors students receive toolkits, materials, and scholarships to launch careers in high-demand trades like automotive technology and construction—helping them enter the workforce with the confidence and tools to succeed.
Related Stories & Articles
How Schools and Communities Across the Adirondacks are Supporting Educational Pathways
Adirondack Community Foundation awards more than $1 million to local nonprofits
Birth to Three Turns 10
Foreign language fund awards more than $53K to schools
Support the Work
Ways to Support Your Community
Your gift to the following funds helps support programs, partnerships, and resources that meet critical needs across our region. Learn more by clicking a fund below.
Birth to Three (BT3) Fund
Support the Birth to Three Alliance in working to ensure our children and families thrive. This fund helps us support our network of early childhood professionals and organizations, craft and champion innovative regional strategies, as well as enable more child care and more advocacy for increased regional resources for our children.
The Generous Acts Fund
About 30% of grants support educational pathways applications requested by early childhood service organizations, nonprofits working with youth and adult learners, schools, libraries, and more every year.
Adirondack Foreign Language Enhancement Fund
To inspire innovative and excellent French and Spanish teaching within Adirondack schools and elevate the status of language teachers in the teaching community.
Educational Pathways Fund
To provide increased information, guidance, and training for youth seeking careers after high school. This fund supports efforts that give young people greater access to meaningful careers, as well as increased technical and vocational training that enables transition into a skilled workforce.
CV-TEC Career and Technical Education Pathways Fund
To create meaningful educational and sustainable employment pathways by eliminating economic and social barriers for talented CV-TEC students through tools, uniforms, work-based learning stipends, and more.
