Flint Early Childhood Collaborative

The evidence is overwhelming that the first several years of a child’s life are among the most important, laying the groundwork for what follows. Alarmed by the potential lead exposure of 10,000 young children, from infancy through six years of age, a group of community organizations came together to form a collaborative to create greater access to high quality, year-round early childhood education and care. One of the most effective strategies to mitigate the damaging effects of toxic stress is participation in such educational opportunities. Programs for infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their parents have now expanded.

The Community Foundation formed a supporting organization, Flint Kids Learn, which owns a new state of the art early childhood facility on the campus of Durant Tuuri Mott School – Educare Flint. Partners in the Flint Early Childhood Collaborate Committee include Flint Community Schools, Genesee Intermediate School District, University of Michigan- Flint, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. The collaborative works to ensure the highest quality standards apply to the Educare Flint and Cumming Great Expectations Early Childhood Center, and is exploring ways to enhance quality and increase access to early childhood programs for all Flint children.

Flint Early Childhood Collaborative Reports