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TPS Foundation Receives Funding from PNC

Special to The Truth

 

The Toledo Public Schools Foundation will receive $150,000 from the PNC Foundation to fund a program that will introduce families and their young children in Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority (LMHA) neighborhoods to high-quality early learning. 

 

Pathway to Pre-K, powered by PNC Grow Up Great® and funded by the PNC Foundation, is hosting free educational classes in the Weiler Homes neighborhood through May 2020. The goal is to educate parents on the importance of teaching children age birth to 5, and to prepare these children to enter preschool. Pathway to Pre-K was designed to help children become accustomed to learning outside of the home. 

 

“It has been proven that children who begin learning early are better prepared to succeed in school and life, yet more than 900 children living in LMHA communities do not participate in early learning programs for a variety of reasons,” said Romules Durant, EdD, superintendent of Toledo Public Schools. “The grant from the PNC Foundation will help us fill the learning void between birth and kindergarten, giving Toledo’s youngest residents a head start on life.”

 

The $150,000 grant from the PNC Foundation was provided as part of the 15th anniversary celebration of PNC Grow Up Great, a multi-year, bilingual initiative to support high-quality early education. 

 

“We wanted our grant to really make an impact, so we worked closely with the schools and the housing authority to determine the greatest need in the Toledo community,” said Bill McDonnell, PNC regional president for Toledo. “We found there was a significant need to help young children begin learning in a friendly, non-intimidating environment, so they’re ready for preschool and beyond.”

 

 

Pathway to Pre-K officially launched in November with a handful of pilot classes offered at Weiler Homes. Each session is held twice monthly for two hours, during which parents are encouraged to engage in educational activities with their children.

Each class begins with a variety of play activities available to the families, such as puzzles, story time and outdoor play. This is followed by a healthy lunch and a lesson in life skills, such as teeth brushing, hand washing and other basic lessons critical to young learners. Parents will be encouraged to help their child continue learning outside of the classroom by taking home educational materials such as crayons, scissors, puzzles, and other items designed to improve hand-eye coordination.

 

“Children are ready to begin learning at birth,” said Demetria M. Simpson, president and chief executive officer of Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority. “We want to give parents the tools they need to start developing their child’s mind right away, so they develop a love of learning long before they go to school.”

 

 

Pathway to Kindergarten

Learning will continue each of the next two summers at the LMHA McClinton Nunn Homes through the Pathway to Kindergarten program. For nine consecutive weeks, parents and children who will enter kindergarten in the fall will be invited to attend two-hour sessions through which they will be introduced to the expectations of kindergarten and the school experience. The classes will focus on literacy, productive play with peers and adapting to school norms, such as navigating the cafeteria. All activities will include conversational prompts to guide parents in having an open-ended dialogue with their children, which will help children grow their language skills. 

 

About PNC Foundation

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. For more information, visit http://www.pncgrowupgreat.com

 

About Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority

Established in 1933, Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority (LMHA) continues to provide affordable housing to adults, seniors and children in its Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Mixed-Income and market rate housing units. LMHA also provides a myriad of programs and opportunities designed to improve the total quality of life for our residents, with the ultimate goal of achieving self-sufficiency. 

 

The programs and services are the result of successful collaborations with numerous community partners. Our current housing portfolio consists of 2,633 Public Housing units; 4,657 Housing Choice Vouchers; 322 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit units; 198 Market Rate units; and, 107 Homeownership Properties. There are approximately 17,500 people who reside in LMHA properties. Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority partners with ALL people and organizations willing to exchange ideas and efforts to enhance Toledo, Lucas County, and the world.  
 

 

   
   


Copyright © 2019 by [The Sojourner's Truth]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 02/13/20 09:08:40 -0500.


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