YWCA SUPPORTS UNIVERSAL PRE-K MODEL

More than 80 percent of 3- and 4-year olds in Toledo are not ready for kindergarten. And so, led by the Office of the Mayor, officials from Toledo Public Schools, and a group of community leaders, efforts are underway to increase the number of kindergarten-ready children in Toledo by offering quality preschool opportunities to 4-year olds in the City of Toledo.The YWCA’s Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) has supported this initiative by providing information about the number of rated child care programs in the city, the number of children served by high-quality providers (3-5 star rated), and opportunities available to increase accessibility and equitability of high-quality child care in the Toledo area. The YWCA CCR&R continues to work with Toledo child care providers to share best practices in early childhood education.Suzanne Gall, YWCA’s director of the Child Care Resource and Referral program, shares leadership with Early Childhood Consultant Linda Dunphy, on two of the work groups -- one focused on Toledo child care providers’ quality supports and one for early care and education workforce development. The process, says Gall, has brought together providers and funders, educators and political leaders to focus on challenges and opportunities that universal pre-K programming represents.