By Malissa Harris, Policy Associate
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HOPE Toledo drives generational change by providing accessible, high-quality education from Pre-K to postsecondary, uplifting families and the city.
HOPE Toledo is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating generational economic change by ensuring access to high-quality education for every young person in the city of Toledo. Through programs like HOPE Toledo Pre-K and HOPE Toledo Promise, the organization works to uplift families and the community. With a focus on early childhood education, HOPE Toledo aims to prepare children for success, improve educational quality across the city, and make programs accessible and affordable for all families.
HOPE Toledo Background
HOPE Toledo is a Cradle to Career organization. Their mission is to support and ensure high-quality education—from preschool to postsecondary and trade school—for every young person in the city of Toledo, to create generational economic change for the betterment of their families and community. HOPE Toledo Pre-K offers high-quality early childhood education and HOPE Toledo Promise offers secondary postsecondary training in college or trade school. HOPE Toledo Pre-K serves 4,000 four-year-old children.
HOPE Toledo, YWCA, Child Care Resource & Referral Agency (CCR&R), and TELC used a shared service model that allows preschool programs to share resources and services. The purpose of the shared service model is to share costs among partners rather than all partners paying the full amount for services. The programs share information (online knowledge hub), networking, resources, back office (billing, fee collection), and eventually they would like to have a sub pool (staff sharing).
HOPE Toledo’s Impact
HOPE Toledo’s goal was to get 80% of their early childhood education providers to increase by a one star each or maintain high-quality rating of 4 or 5 star. They had 73% of providers increase by a one-star rating or maintained their 4- or 5-star rating in 2023. In their 2023 HOPE Toledo Annual Report, they reported approximately 30.2% of HOPE Toledo Pre-K students were in the demonstrating category of the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA).
Celebrating EC Educators
HOPE Toledo celebrated early childhood educators at their third Summer Symposium event, held at the Toledo Zoo on July 23, 2024. I had the privilege of attending the event, which featured dinner, vendors, and recognition of various programs. The symposium honored educators who earned degrees or a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, as well as programs that improved their star ratings. By hosting this event, HOPE Toledo aims to celebrate early childhood educators. Recognizing teachers and their achievements is important because it fosters a sense of belonging, acknowledges their hard work, boosts morale, improves child outcomes, and shows gratitude for their dedication.
Left: Elisa Huss-Hage, Director of Early Childhood Education of HOPE Toledo
Right: Rev. John C. Jones, President & CEO of HOPE Toledo
Enroll Today
HOPE Toledo is important for the community because 4 out 5 children start school and are not ready to learn. Too many children who start behind, stay behind—in school, high school graduation, college enrollment, job skills, and family income. HOPE Toledo Pre-K provides 4-year-olds with a strong start. Their pre-K program is accessible, affordable, and available. The programs are close to home with highly rated providers across Toledo. The tuition assistance is based on income and uses a sliding scale. They are enrolling now.
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