HOPE Toledo Shares Important Organizational Update and Progress
HOPE Toledo Shares Important Organizational Update and Progress
Releases Inaugural Annual Report with Key Milestones for Both Pre-K and Promise
Toledo, Ohio, March 7, 2023 — Today, Rev. John C. Jones, President and CEO of HOPE Toledo, provided an update on the organization’s work and progress – for both HOPE Toledo Pre-K and HOPE Toledo Promise.
Key updates and data points shared were:
For school year 2021-2022, approximately 225 children received high-quality early childhood education through the HOPE Toledo Pre-K Providers and 30% of HOPE Toledo Pre-K students were in the demonstrating category (the highest possible level) of Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA).
From September 2021 - 2022, HOPE Toledo Pre-K doubled the number of Pre-K Partner Providers from 10 to 20 located throughout the City, offering more children the opportunity to receive a high-quality early childhood education close to home.
HOPE Toledo Pre-K has a goal of serving 300 children (primarily 4-year-olds) in the 2022-2023 school year.
Eight HOPE Toledo Promise Scholars, including two parents, have already graduated from a postsecondary institution or program.
Northwestern University recently published findings based on its 2022 implementation study, the second study it has conducted on the HOPE Toledo Promise program. Its findings, based on both the 2020 and 2021 Jesup W. Scott High School graduation years, include:
Cohort One (2020 graduation year) has seen a 43% persistence rate through two years of postsecondary experience.
Cohort Two (2021 graduation year) has seen a 69% persistence rate after one year.
In September 2022, the third Cohort of HOPE Toledo Scholars began their journey into postsecondary education.
There are currently more than 200 HOPE Toledo Promise Scholars working toward their degree or certificate in a postsecondary program or trade school.
“HOPE Toledo exists to support and ensure high-quality education from birth to career – from preschool, postsecondary and trade schools – to create generational economic change for the betterment of our families and community,” said John C. Jones, President and CEO of HOPE Toledo.
“Today marks approximately three years since the launch of HOPE Toledo and I’m excited to release our inaugural annual report and announce some key data points that demonstrate we are having a real impact and moving the needle for our kids and community,” he said.
Also speaking on behalf of HOPE Toledo’s impact were:
Wendi Huntley, Esq., HOPE Toledo Board Chair and President & CEO, Connecting Kids to Meals
Wade Kapszukiewicz, City of Toledo Mayor
Tina Wozniak, Lucas County Commissioner
Dr. Romules Durant, Superintendent, Toledo Public Schools
Dondra Coleman, Director, Learning Ladder Child Care II and HOPE Toledo Pre-K Provider
James Gilbert Parks, HOPE Toledo Promise Scholar and Lourdes University Student
Many of the 20 HOPE Toledo Pre-K Providers, along with several pre-K students and HOPE Toledo Promise Scholars were also in attendance.
For more information on HOPE Toledo visit hope-toledo.org.
About HOPE Toledo
HOPE Toledo is a 501(c) 3 organization and encompasses HOPE Toledo Pre-K and HOPE Toledo Promise. The mission of HOPE Toledo is to work with the Toledo community to support and ensure high-quality educational experiences for all of our youth, from preschool to postsecondary and trade school, with the goal of helping to create generational economic change for the betterment of our families and our community. Currently, 36% of the people in the TPS district are living below the poverty line and more than 80% of kids in Toledo enter kindergarten without the skills needed to learn.
This cradle-to-career approach will better serve our children and, in the long run, help our city progress toward a stronger, more educated workforce. To that end, HOPE Toledo is working with the Toledo community, through public/private partnerships and in tandem with Toledo Public Schools and Washington Local Schools, to develop a plan to deliver high-quality educational experiences for all of our youth. For more information or to donate, visit hope-toledo.org.
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