United Way of Pierce County has launched a campaign to help make sure young children are prepared for kindergarten, a major theme for this year’s fundraising efforts.

The concern is that many, perhaps about 60 percent, of children don’t have the rudimentary skills they need when they enter the school system, according to United Way President Rick Allen.

Allen said he and experts in early-childhood development think that’s a major reason why about 30 percent of high school students in Pierce County drop out before graduation.

Improving the situation through early-childhood development efforts “will be a lead issue in the fall campaign,” Allen said.

The organization’s plans are in the early stages. They focus on bringing together the efforts already under way in the county to help young children get ready for school into a coherent, countywide system.

There’s also a movement to get financial help from other area philanthropic organizations to meet that goal.

The Gates Foundation, for instance, has already pledged a matching gift of $250,000 for early-learning programs.

Craig Ueland, chief executive of Russell Investment Group, and his wife, Niki, have also pledged a $250,000 matching gift earmarked for early-childhood development efforts.

Improving early-childhood development means ensuring that young children meet the benchmarks expected of 5-year-olds, said Mike Robinson, a senior United Way of Pierce County vice president.

That means, for instance, that they can recognized colors and shapes, numbers, basic words like “dog” and “tree,” and have other similar skills by the time they enter kindergarten.

It also means they are ready emotionally and psychologically to interact with other children, Robinson said.

In some parts of Pierce County, that’s a tall order.

It takes time to help young children learn those skills, time single parents already working several jobs to make ends meet might not have, Robinson said.

Allen said he predicts that about $500,000 to $1 million of the roughly $12 million his organization expects to raise in this year’s campaign will go toward early-childhood development efforts.

Last fall, United Way helped bring together businesses, school districts, county health officials and other organizations – about 25 total – to form the Pierce County Early Childhood Development Consortium.

Part of the early-childhood development money raised this year will fund existing programs the consortium identifies as doing the best job getting young children ready for school.