Explanation
Mayor Ginther’s vision for Columbus, America’s Opportunity City, is that every 4-year-old has access to a high-quality prekindergarten education. Addressing early childhood learning means bringing awareness and resources to a critical learning stage in childhood development. Children who come to school ready to learn are more likely to succeed academically and in life.
Children who participate in high-quality early childhood education experiences significantly improve their early literacy, language, and math skills. Ample evidence shows that children who enter school unprepared fall further and further behind. Students who get a poor start in their earliest years are likely to struggle in high school and, subsequently, fail to graduate.
Unfortunately, there are too few high-quality preschool providers in Columbus, especially in the Greater Hilltop Area. To address this gap, the City is working on the design and construction of a new state-of-the art early learning facility in the Hilltop. When open, this new facility will provide a high-quality early education to approximately 240 Hilltop children.
To succeed however, we know that our children need more than just classroom instruction; we must focus on serving the overall needs of the whole child. Regardless of the quality of an early learning program, children will neither learn nor develop if they are exposed to toxic stresses and trauma in their home and community. For children and families that have experienced trauma and toxic stresses, mental and behavioral health, and counselling services are necessary. And meeting the basic needs of the family, such as having access to fresh fruits and vegetables, stable housing, employment, childcare, and transportation are important for the success of the entire family.
In 2019, the Department of Education contracted with Mollard Consulting to assist us in determining what wraparound programs and services were needed for Hilltop children to be s...
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