ODESSA, Texas — It's a harsh reality: 50 percent of kids here in the Permian Basin are not ready for Kindergarten but the time they reach that age.
However, local hospitals and education groups are partnering up to change that.
Starting January 1, 2020, every baby born in Odessa will be sent home with a 'Power Bag'.
Organizations around the community have come together to make sure that parents have the knowledge and tools to help their kids be ready for their first day of school.
"We will begin 2020 in this community focusing on all five thousand children that will be born this year with early brain development because 8-% of your cognitive skills are developed in the first three years of your life," said Lorraine Perryman, the chair of the Education Partnership.
The power bags are part of a special purpose: to teach parents how to connect with their kids in the cradle because that's when studies show it matters.
The bags will be filled with books, milestone markers and other tools to help new parents engage with their children.
The Education Partnership says this is only the first step in their efforts to encourage parents to start engage with their kids as newborns.