Grounded in Real Schools and Real Communities
Strong Start’s work is grounded in real classrooms, real educators, and real communities.
Across diverse school contexts, early readiness efforts supported through Strong Start demonstrate what becomes possible when foundational skills are built intentionally during the elementary years. Schools report improvements in classroom culture, student engagement, and a shared language around focus, belonging, and readiness.
These early outcomes reinforce a consistent insight:
when readiness foundations are built early, students are better prepared to learn, connect, and grow as expectations increase.
8 Elementary Schools
2150 Students
53 Classrooms
8 Elementary Schools 2150 Students 53 Classrooms
Early Reach and Active Impact
Strong Start’s work is grounded in real classrooms, real educators, and real communities.
Across diverse school contexts, early readiness efforts supported through Strong Start demonstrate what becomes possible when foundational skills are built intentionally during the elementary years. Schools report improvements in classroom culture, student engagement, and a shared language around focus, belonging, and readiness.
These early outcomes reinforce a consistent insight:
when readiness foundations are built early, students are better prepared to learn, connect, and grow as expectations increase.
Foundational Co-Creation Partner
Random Lake School District (Wisconsin)
The Random Lake School District played a foundational role in the development of the UNYTUS K–5 Character and Career Readiness program, serving as a long-term co-creation and learning partner over the past three years.
District leaders and educators worked closely to design classroom-ready lessons and implementation approaches grounded in real classrooms and real student needs. This collaboration ensured alignment with the Wisconsin Career Readiness Standards while honoring both the science of learning and the art of teaching that educators bring to their work every day.
UNYTUS was built with educators, not for educators. Lessons were tested, refined, and strengthened through daily instruction rather than imagined in isolation, allowing the program to remain developmentally appropriate, practical, and responsive to students.
Through this partnership, an important system-level insight emerged: early readiness efforts require more than strong instructional tools. Even the best-designed frameworks depend on funding pathways, implementation support, and an organizational partner capable of helping schools move readiness from theory into practice.
These learnings directly informed the creation of Strong Start as a 501(c)(3) organization, designed to help schools access resources, support implementation, and sustain early readiness efforts equitably and with integrity.
Early District and School Implementations
Building on this foundational work, Strong Start-supported efforts have expanded into additional districts and school communities, including:
Public Schools – Carver Academy (MPS School) and partner schools
Early implementation focused on strengthening empathy, belonging, and classroom culture in collaboration with philanthropic partners.St. Maty Czestochowa & HOPE Christian Schools
Designed to explore readiness outcomes across varied school contexts in partnership with regional education leadership.Malaika Early Learning Center and Northshore Montessori
Keeping in mind the needs of the early learners to begin learning by turn and talk.
This progression reflects Strong Start’s approach: learn deeply in one context, then expand responsibly with community and philanthropic support.
Philanthropic and Community Partners
Strong Start’s early work has been shaped and strengthened through partnership with philanthropic organizations that recognize the importance of investing early—before challenges escalate and opportunities narrow.
WEA Member Benefits Trust
The WEA Member Benefits Trust supported early readiness efforts in partnership with Random Lake School District, guided by a shared belief that strengthening student foundations and agency during the elementary years can contribute to improved mental well-being and reduced challenges later in life.
Bader Philanthropies
Bader Philanthropies provided catalytic support that enabled early implementation of the UNYTUS K–5 Character and Career Readiness program across multiple schools, helping establish momentum for the work and generate early learning that continues to inform Strong Start’s approach.
Strong Start is intentional about how philanthropic partnerships are represented. Partner recognition is shared with permission and reflects a commitment to trust, transparency, and long-term collaboration.
Implementation Tools and Program Partners
To support schools effectively, Strong Start deploys high-quality, classroom-ready tools aligned to its readiness framework.
One such tool is UNYTUS, a K–5 Character and Career Readiness program developed by educators and owned by Stratf LLC. Strong Start licenses UNYTUS at fair market value and implements it in partnership with districts as one pathway to support early readiness goals.
🔗 See one example of how life and career readiness shows up in classrooms.
Our Team and Governance
Strong Start is led and governed by education, workforce, and philanthropic leaders committed to long-term student success.
Looking Ahead
What began with early partnerships in Wisconsin is evolving into a model that can be adapted by communities nationwide.
Strong Start remains committed to:
Responsible growth
Evidence-informed decision-making
Transparent partnerships
Long-term impact over short-term scale
We believe meaningful change happens when communities invest early and intentionally.