Owensboro receives 2024 Groundswell Community Action Award from Prichard Committee

Greater Owensboro was recently selected by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence as the inaugural recipient of the Groundswell Community Action program. The award recognizes Kentucky communities that have used civic engagement to develop innovative solutions to improve schools, child care centers and educational outcomes at the local level.

“Owensboro is an example of what can happen when community members come together to leverage local resources to meet local needs without waiting for state or federal intervention,” said Brigitte Blom, president of the Prichard Committee. “This award recognizes the power that comes from building broad community support to create meaningful change in our own backyard.”

That honor was bestowed on the greater Owensboro area when more than 350 education stakeholders from across Kentucky gathered at the Owensboro Convention Center last month for the Groundswell Summit and Prichard Committee Annual Meeting.

“Owensboro has a long tradition of community collaboration to find solutions to the problems facing our citizens,” said Clay Ford, Prichard Committee member and Owensboro native. “You can see that in how we have come together to build infrastructure, develop our riverfront, care for our community’s children, beautify the town and more.”

The summit featured a panel highlighting Owensboro’s local work, titled “Owensboro’s Can-Do Spirit: A Dedicated Local Coalition’s Efforts to Improve Early Childhood Care and Education.” The panelists were part of the Greater Owensboro Partnership for Early Development (GOPED), a coalition of local citizens mobilizing the community to improve access to and quality of early childhood care and education in the city.

The Prichard Committee received a multi-year grant from the Public Life Foundation of Owensboro, which provided funding to develop a plan for a high-quality early childhood ecosystem in the greater Owensboro area. Through this partnership, GOPED has “worked to leverage the evidence-based power of high-quality early childhood care and education to strengthen kindergarten readiness and improve third-grade reading proficiency,” according to a press release from the Prichard Committee.

“The Groundswell Summit is an opportunity for education leaders from across Kentucky to come together and share what they are doing in their own communities to improve educational outcomes,” Blom said. “Owensboro was the ideal place to find inspiration.”