Giving Compass' Take:

• Jackie Mader at The Hechinger Report writes on a dramatic community-led effort that greatly increased enrollment in high-quality preschools in Cleveland. 

• The number of high-quality preschool programs in Cleveland has increased by 32 percent in just one year. What are other states doing to help their preschools? 

• Read about how child care providers can collaborate to better serve local families.

Three years ago, Chalfonte Smith’s childcare center in north Cleveland, Ohio, was struggling academically. The problem was not for a lack of trying. Smith couldn’t afford a curriculum, which can cost thousands of dollars. Her teachers did not have enough training. And classrooms needed more books and educational materials.

In September 2016, that all changed abruptly. Smith’s center, A Jubilee Academy, was chosen to participate in an improvement program by PRE4CLE, a city initiative with the goal of expanding access to high-quality preschool across Cleveland. Program officials purchased books, science materials, blocks and musical instruments for the center. They paid for a curriculum. And they underwrote the cost of intensive trainings for teachers to learn about instruction, social emotional learning and how to assess children’s progress. Smith’s teachers were also sponsored to complete the courses required to earn their Child Development Associate Credential, a badge of expertise for early childhood educators. “They just gave us everything so we could give our inner-city kids the same as other high-quality preschool programs,” Smith said.

Read the full article about revamping preschool programs in Cleveland by Jackie Mader at The Hechinger Report.