Aid Coming to Detroit’s Early Education Programs

Detroit has been revitalizing itself in a multitude of ways in recent years—and they show no signs of stopping soon. This week, Detroit took aim at the early education program.

Two national philanthropic leaders announced that they would be contributing a combined $50 million over a 10-year span to improve early childhood education and services in the Motor City. This plan includes renovating existing facilities as well as building a new state of the art early education center in one of the larger Detroit neighborhoods.

The project, titled “Hope Starts Here: Detroit’s Early Childhood Partnership Framework,” is led by The Kresge Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. According to this week’s announcement, the project places a focus on “creating a stronger connection between early childhood, health and education; improving early childhood services and supporting the financial stability of those programs.”

“Achieving positive and equitable outcomes for Detroit’s children requires significant and sustained private and public investment,” said La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “We hope our three-year, $25 million initial commitment to strengthen networks for quality early childhood education and widen access for Detroit families will catalyze additional support.”

The initial function of the project will be to instill a central coordinating office which will integrate all data and programs, increase information sharing, and create a team of advocates for the early education system. Other concept focuses include investing in training and support materials, allowing a standardized method to put into place.

A portion of the funds will also go toward establishing comprehensive health and developmental screenings for children within their first 1,000 days of life.

“Detroit must aspire to be a city that puts children first. Hope Starts Here is a powerful first step in that direction,” said Rip Rapson, president and CEO of the Kresge Foundation.

The implementation of such a project will help to raise school and educational ratings for the Detroit metro area over time. Such an effect would translate into higher property values and rental rates—making Detroit an even hotter real estate market in the long term.

News & Image Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2017/11/10/detroit-early-education-million-program/107526024/