#SpotlightOnCLT Early Childhood Education
#SpotlightOnCLT Early Childhood Education:
A Guide to Nonprofits in Charlotte
Each month, SHARE Charlotte provides a series of highlights on local nonprofits who are doing great work for a cause that may be close to your heart. We call this series #SpotlightOnCLT. This series helps shine a light on local nonprofits, some you may not have heard of, and helps to amplify their voice. We share this series in an effort to help you get involved in ways that matter most to you! Attend events, donate, or volunteer!
This month, SHARE Charlotte will be highlighting our nonprofit partners who are working to support the health and learning of children ages birth to 5. We are honored to present this topic to you with the help of our friends at the Alliance Center for Education. (Learn more about AC4Ed later this month!)
Below is a guide to nonprofits who are leading the charge in supporting early childhood education. Please read and share this guide with someone you love or with those you know who are looking for early childhood education programs. Hear directly from the organizations below. Be sure to click the links to see more about each organization including contact information, volunteer interest forms, social media contacts, and upcoming events.
“Alliance Center for Education is Charlotte’s largest nonprofit provider of no-cost Early Childhood programming, and we utilize the Head Start approach offering education, comprehensive services, and home visitation resources for expectant mothers and children from birth to five, that promote early learning and development, health, and family well-being. Our afterschool programs focus on supporting curriculum and individual student progress through partnership between our staff, teachers, students, and families. Serving more than 700 families annually , we strive to create a world where a family's income does not determine a child's outcome.”
“Freedom Communities’ tagline is family-centered community transformation. We are place-based, focusing our work within Charlotte's Freedom-Wilkinson Corridor. Located within the 28208 zip code, the Corridor is home to the county’s highest percentage of single-mother households and number of families with children living below the poverty line. Many interconnected factors contribute to the well-being of families. Limiting our focus area allows us to scale deeply and work holistically with families while simultaneously investing in infrastructure like affordable housing and education.
With 80% of a child’s brain developing by age 5, the first years in a child’s life are critical to building the foundations for optimal growth and development. In 2019 the Corridor was a desert for quality early education for children ages 0-3. In response, FC expanded the capacity of a 5-star childcare center run by a local community leader known to produce the best readers at local schools. Opened in 2022, this center has the capacity to serve 77 children. Our teams and program delivery are deeply integrated. Beyond our Moms Moving Forward (MMF) Program, all families have access to free on-site mental health support, free diapers (through our on-site Diaper Bank), career support, car seats, weekly fresh produce, monthly parenting classes, an on site Women's Health bus in partnership with Atrium, and monthly virtual workshops around key topics from resume building to sleep routines. With a waitlist of over 100 children, we will be expanding the center by adding two classrooms in 2025.”
“At Charlotte Bilingual Preschool, it is our mission to prepare Spanish-speaking children for success in school and life by providing superior dual language, multicultural early childhood education. Through our free 5-star licensed early education program, children are immersed in a dual language, literacy-rich environment that prepares them for kindergarten and builds their English proficiency while leveraging the advantages of bilingualism and cultural diversity. To create a pipeline of bilingual educators, our workforce development program partners with CPCC to offer Early Childhood Education classes in Spanish, on the weekends, to our families and Latino adults in our community. Through this partnership, we guide students through pathways to become credentialed educators. Additionally, we have family programs to support the entire family unit.”
La Escuelita Bilingual Preschool
“La Escuelita Bilingual Preschool is a high-quality preschool program in a loving environment where children make friends and play. Our teachers empower the children to engage in group activities, listen to stories, and work together with other children.
We believe our dual-language school is the most comfortable transition to kindergarten. Our ratios are low; our approach is gentle and kind. We create a love for learning that truly benefits children for the rest of their schooling. We believe children learn by doing and learn by playing.
Studies show that without proper preparation in school, many Hispanic children fall behind. Local kindergarten teachers tell us our graduates are beautifully prepared in every way. Donors help make our high-quality program affordable for all.”
Black Child Development Institute-Carolinas
“BCDI-Carolinas has made family and community engagement a cornerstone in our efforts to improve and advance the quality of life for Black and brown children and their families through education and advocacy and will continue to convey its centrality to the healthy growth and development of our children. Family engagement is a high-impact strategy for improving schools and increasing literacy achievement. Research unequivocally demonstrates that high-performing schools maintain strong communication with families. In contrast, low-performing schools are characterized by weak family engagement- which means that the preparation of teachers and community members for family engagement becomes not only an issue of good practice but one of equity. BCDI-Carolinas agrees that we have a responsibility to respond to this reality by transforming our approach and moving away from so-called random acts of family engagement.
We actually believe the oft-quoted maxim that “parents are their children’s first and most important teachers” and appreciate the definition of family engagement as a systemic and sustained commitment that occurs across time spans and many settings and requires shared responsibility from all parties. We support the early care and education community through Eight Essential Outcomes for Black Child Development by working with families in education and advocacy prior to entering the school system.”
“Thompson helps the most vulnerable in our communities by providing the highest quality of care and education in the critical early educational years. Our research-proven programs foster lifetime skills around social-emotional, cognitive, and kindergarten readiness to create change for the children, their families, and our communities. Thompson believes that changing lives changes everything.”
Families First in Cabarrus County
“Families First strengthens families, nurtures children, and empowers parents through early childhood and whole-family support, focusing on equity and community building for those facing significant barriers. Families First operates Cabarrus County's first 5-Star Bilingual Preschools and immersion NC Pre-K classrooms. As a ParentChild+ National Affiliate, we prepare children for preschool through home visits. After establishing three home-based childcare networks across two counties to counteract the closure of many such facilities, we provide the ParentChild+ program and financial support. Families First offers additional support services like GED, ESL, and tutoring classes.”
“We are a National Home Visiting program providing One on One and Home Based Childcare supportive services. Here in Mecklenburg County, we serve the community through our partner organizations Inlivian Core, Families First and Alliance Center for Education. To date, over 130 children ages 16 months to 4 have graduated from our 46 week program receiving a book or educational toy to keep each week. In addition to the children in our footprint, we also provide supportive services and referrals for the entire family. We are looking forward to continuing to pour the foundation of learning and success into our local families.”