Virginia Beach GrowSmart

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Virginia Beach GrowSmart

GrowSmart is the City of Virginia Beach's early learning effort. GrowSmart is the City of Virginia Beach's early childhood education initiative.

We provide information and resources for parents & educators of young children, ages 0-8. 2013 "Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation" (Alliance for Innovation) We strive to ensure every child in Virginia Beach will be born healthy; enter kindergarten ready to learn; and continue to read proficiently through third grade, establishing a strong foundation for success in school and i

n life. Virginia Beach GrowSmart exists to promote and improve the healthy development, school readiness, and reading proficiency of young children, ages 0-8. We provide resources for parents and caregivers through a variety of events, trainings, and article shares. In addition to providing resources for parents and families, GrowSmart offers programming to ensure the availability of high-quality early education and to promote reading proficiency by third grade. Some of GrowSmart's programming includes: Early Education Small Business Training Program, Provider Training series, Virginia Beach Reads, Virginia Quality initiative, and a few other events for children and families.

03/06/2026

What an incredible Read Across America Day 2026 in Virginia Beach! 📚 💫

We were honored to welcome author whose book Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies was featured for this year’s celebration. Sharing the joy of reading with our young learners made the day truly special!

We were also grateful to have members of board stop by to greet some of our amazing readers, including Mayor Bobby Dyer, Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson, Councilman Cash Jackson- Green, and Housing Director Ruth Hill, and many other amazing and dedicated community leaders.

Thank you to our incredible community partners and sponsors - who help make events like this possible. Together, we’re inspiring a love of reading in Virginia Beach- one story at a time 📚 🌟

Anthem Health Keepers Plus
Square One

01/15/2026

✨We’re gearing up for 2026 Read Across America Day ✨

Read Across America Day remains a signature Virginia Beach GrowSmart program, proudly supported by and we couldn’t be more excited!

Join on Friday, March 6, 2026, as we celebrate the love of literacy with our incredible childcare centers across Virginia Beach. We’re especially thrilled to welcome author Carmen Oliver, who will help make this day truth unforgettable!

A heartfelt thank you to our amazing sponsors whose support makes this magical day of literacy possible:

Stay tuned for more event details coming soon!

07/28/2025

Community Investment!

Last Tuesday, we had the pleasure of connecting with Sonya Moore, Area Manager of Mathnasium Pembroke. We are grateful to all the Mathnasium in Virginia Beach for coming together and choosing Virginia Beach GrowSmart as their featured nonprofit of the month.

We truly appreciate the opportunity and look forward to collaborating with Mathnasium on future educational projects.

Address

4525 Main St, Ste 700
Virginia Beach, VA
23462

Website

http://www.vbgrowsmart.com/

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The GrowSmart Story

Virginia Beach GrowSmart is the City of Virginia Beach’s early childhood education initiative. GrowSmart was created in 2009 when the former “Ready to Learn” team of the Virginia Beach Public Libraries formed a strong partnership with the Virginia Beach Health Department’s Healthy Families Virginia Beach program. Under the new name of GrowSmart, a team of practitioners, led by a full-time GrowSmart Coordinator, came together regularly to assess the state of early childhood in our city and region and to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated local early childhood system.

The GrowSmart office was strategically moved from the Department of Public Libraries to the Department of Economic Development in 2011. This important organizational shift represents our City’s understanding that early childhood education is an important economic issue. Workforce development begins in the years prior to kindergarten, when brain development occurs most rapidly. By helping our youngest children to grow up healthy and ready to succeed in school, we do what is right not just for our citizens, but for our future economic vitality.

Our Work Virginia Beach GrowSmart exists to promote and improve the healthy development, school readiness, and reading proficiency of young children, ages 0-8. If you are a parent or caregiver of a young child, please visit our “Parents” page for resources and information on raising healthy, happy, and school-ready children. In addition to providing resources for parents and families, GrowSmart offers programming to ensure the availability of high-quality early education and to promote reading proficiency by third grade.