Craddock Center Inc

21 years ago, The Craddock Center responded to a need and began an innovative approach to help Pre-K and Head Start children in southern Appalachia prepare for kindergarten.

• Every year 40% of children go into Kindergarten 1 to 3 years behind.
• Most students who start behind stay behind, year after year.
• Students who start Kindergarten below grade level form the largest cohort of dropouts, and they have less than a 2% change of attending post high school education.
• From birth to age 5, a child learns at a speed unmatched the rest of their life.

In addition, in our nine-county region in southern Appalachia, 20.6% of 3- and 4-year-old children live in poverty. The effects of poverty on children are wide-reaching and can lead to lifelong struggles, especially when young people do not receive full educations.

Poverty and education are inextricably linked. People living in poverty may stop going to school so they can work, which leaves them without literacy and numeracy skills they need to further their careers. Their children, in turn, are in a similar situation years later, with little income and few options but to leave school and work. The effects of poverty, the lack of food, appropriate shelter, or access to educational materials such as books, put students at a disadvantage before they even enter kindergarten. 

In November 2004 Dr. Fred Craddock, the founder of The Craddock Center wrote “We [The Craddock Center] are about the business of enriching lives, of lifting self-esteem, of instilling a sense of self-worth, of effecting socialization so that each child can play and study and grow as an equal to other children.”

The mission of The Craddock Center, which began in 2001, is to deliver educational and cultural programs to young children in Southern Appalachia. Currently we serve 1,140 Pre-K and Head Start children in 9 counties in north Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina. 

 The Children’s Enrichment Program (CEP) is considered the signature program of The Craddock Center.  Our program is delivered free of charge to schools and Head Start programs in our Southern Appalachian area. Priority is given to schools with the highest percentage of children on free or reduced lunches.  Our CEP staff use storytelling, music, props, voices, sign language, puppet stages, and movement to share their talents and create learning experiences that build school readiness, imagination, emerging literacy skills, and creativity.  We have specially designed our programs, based on research for optimal learning to best prepare these children for Kindergarten. We also provide each child a brand-new book three times during the school year. The Craddock Center’s emphasis becomes the foundation for these children to achieve their full potential in all areas of their lives.

Pre-K and Head Start children have suffered greatly because of the pandemic. The literacy, motor, and socialization skills they must develop at this age to prepare for kindergarten have been significantly impacted due to no school at times and virtual school at other times. In light of this, we are collecting donations to provide books to the 1,100 pre-K and Head Start children we serve.