With a bold $5 million investment from JPMorgan Chase over the next three years, Martha’s Table, American University, LIFT-DC, Trinity Washington University, and Venture Philanthropy Partners+Raise DC are launching the Advancing Early Education Collaborative. The Urban Institute will serve as the evaluation partner for the collaborative.
This partnership will tackle the systemic drivers of wealth gaps within the early education sector. In Washington, D.C., the early education field is racially and economically segregated. Most early childhood educators in D.C. are Black and/or Latina women, who earn just $17,771 annually (Urban Institute, 2018). This is due to a variety of factors, including a lack of access to postsecondary education and financial security, as well as low wages for early childhood educators and employment in small, minority-owned centers that are under-resourced.
Who will this collaborative support?
- This collaborative supports those in the District of Columbia, ages 16+, who are seeking to enter into or advance in the early childhood education profession. It will place an intentional focus on enrolling Black and Latina women, who are among those hardest hit by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- At the same time, the collaborative will also partner with early education centers in D.C. to pilot new business models to foster higher wages for this critical profession.
What are the benefits for participating women?
- Enrollment in nationally accredited credentialing and/or degree-granting programs for the early education profession. Choose among programs with American University and Trinity Washington University!
- Tutoring, mentoring, exam coaching, and technology access to support you throughout your educational journey.
- Essential resources for you and your family, including healthy groceries, children’s clothing, and professional attire — all at no cost to you.
- The chance to participate in coaching to improve your financial strength and wellbeing.
- The opportunity to qualify for transportation and childcare stipends while you attend school or complete practicum hours.
Collaborative Members
Martha’s Table believes that every Washingtonian deserves the opportunity to thrive. For more than 40 years, we’ve supported strong children, strong families, and strong communities in the District of Columbia. Today, we stand firmly alongside Washingtonians on both sides of the Anacostia River by operating nationally accredited education programs, pairing healthy food access with physical and mental health services, and promoting family success by investing in family leaders.
LIFT-DC‘s mission is to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by investing in parents. We provide integrated financial, educational, and employment coaching along with direct cash payments. Our trained coaches partner with parents to build their well-being, financial strength, and social connections — or as we like to put it, Hope, Money, and Love — so that they can reach economic stability and mobility.
Venture Philanthropy Partners+RaiseDC tackles barriers to success for children and youth (ages 0-24) and their families in Greater Washington through direct investments and engaging community members, businesses, government leaders, foundations, non-profits, and philanthropists in cross-sector collaboration. Through financial investments, coupled with our strategic assistance in strengthening organizational capacity, VPP+Raise DC has deployed more than $110M to programs and organizations serving 50,000 children and young adults in our region annually to yield healthier families, improved academic achievement, and higher graduation rates.
American University leverages the power and purpose of scholarship, learning, and community to impact our changing world. From sustainability to social justice to the sciences, AU’s faculty, students, staff, and alumni are changemakers. Building on our 128-year history of education and research in the public interest, we say ‘Challenge Accepted’ to addressing the world’s pressing issues. Our Change Can’t Wait comprehensive campaign creates transformative educational opportunities, advances research with impact, and builds stronger communities.
Trinity Washington University is celebrating 125 years of higher education, and proudly enrolls more D.C. residents than any other private university in the city and in the nation and is designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Minority Serving Institution. Trinity is the only university in D.C. and the Washington region, and one of only a few in the country, designated as both a Predominantly Black Institution and Hispanic Serving Institution. Trinity has been a leader in preparing educators since its founding in 1897. Today, Trinity offers a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential preparation program as well as, associate degree (AA), bachelor’s degree (BA), post-bachelor certificate, and master’s degree programs (or specialization) in early education.
Evaluation Partner
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit research organization that provides data and evidence to help advance upward mobility and equity. We are a trusted source for changemakers who seek to strengthen decision making, create inclusive economic growth, and improve the well-being of families and communities. For more than 50 years, Urban has delivered facts that inspire solutions—and this remains our charge today.