Today, we start our series of spotlights to tap into your West Seattle Giving Spirit. Last week, we invited local nonprofits to participate in this first-ever coordinated giving campaign – first-come first-served – and our partner in the campaign, Learning Communities Foundation, received enough applications to fill up the spots. Three times a week before year’s end, here on WSB, you’ll learn about a different West Seattle/White Center nonprofit and how you can support it. LCF is kicking off the campaign with a spotlight on its early-learning center Educare Seattle, as the first participant – here’s their story:
It’s Fire Drill Day @ Educare Seattle!
A fire drill with the 150 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers at Educare Seattle Early Learning in White Center is no small feat. All of the little people, with all their little FEET, practice their listening, walking, and self-control under the care of their teachers to trek outside.
Educare Seattle is an innovative early-learning center in White Center, with a Whole Family Whole Child approach, where hiring decisions, curriculum changes, and even 1:1 learning plans are done with staff and families working together. Your gift as part of the West Seattle Giving Spirit campaign will support Educare Seattle’s early learning impact right here.
Because 85% of brain development happens before the 3rd birthday, high-quality early learning that partners deeply with families is vital. During the roughly 2,000 days between birth and kindergarten, a child’s mind and body are focused solely on growing and developing – inside and out.
Investing in Educare Seattle (624 SW 100th) means you are investing in a neighbor’s child during this important time as well as the future promise of our West Seattle and White Center communities.
With data and evaluation in hand and relationships built on trust, families meeting “income and circumstance” criteria receive child care and attend preschool in a setting built on four pillars that combine to lead to a Racially Just and Humanizing Learning Community.
Those are big words for a program focused on little children.
Daily, 150 children enter Educare Seattle’s 10 classrooms. They are greeted by teachers and school leaders who look and sound like them, honor their stories, and celebrate their traditions. Parents and caregivers are recognized as their children’s first and most important teachers and have access to family support services and leadership opportunities in equal proportion.
A mom of a recent “Off to Kindergarten” graduate says, “Our family has really grown with Educare the past 3.5 years. I left a really hard relationship, moved and didn’t have a job. With the help of my Family Advocate, I became a Parent Advocate. (This means) I was able to look at resumes of people who wanted to work here and that helped ME get more experience (so that) I also got a job (and was recently promoted!). I cannot say enough good things about Educare and how much they help families in need and how much they helped me.”
Real-time, equity-centered data and evaluation practices impact every family (100% of families have faced systemic obstacles grounded in poverty or oppression) and also inform both state and federal legislation beyond the walls of our building.
Educare was launched in 2010 with capital and operational support from the Gates Foundation; that funding source has now ended. Educare Seattle is a part of a network of 27 Educare schools all under the nationwide Early Learning Network. Its local impact has national influence through this critical partnership. Primary funding for Educare Seattle comes from federal Head Start and Early Head Start funds, in kind and backbone support from the Puget Sound Educational Service District and fund development support from the Learning Communities Foundation, the PSESD’s philanthropic partner.
Join us for a Tour tomorrow – Thursday, November 21, 10:30-12 pm – or at a date of your choice December 9-13 – email nwoodland@learningcommunitiesfoundation.org
Interested in learning about volunteering in 2025? nwoodland@learningcommunitiesfoundation.org
Enrollment information is here – or email Family Advocate Christina Monteith (cmonteith@psesd.org)
We are hiring teachers! Email Site Manager Johna Rhooms (jrhooms@psesd.org) to learn more.
West Seattle Giving Spirit, in partnership with the Learning Communities Foundation, will bring you the next spotlight on Friday – you’ll be able to learn about, and lift up, another local nonprofit!
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