FLINT KIDS THRIVE!

THRIVING SCHOOLS.
THRIVING FAMILIES.
THRIVING COMMUNITIES.

Our Mission

The Flint Center for Educational Excellence is building an educational ecosystem that works for all Flint kids by providing programs, research, and advocacy that ensure Flint kids, their families, schools, and communities thrive.

Our Work

The Flint Center for Educational Excellence is dedicated to working with the community to help Flint kids thrive. Launched with funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Flint Center leads and coordinates six cooperative efforts: a community education initiative, afterschool programming, the Flint Early Childhood Collaborative, a parent collaborative, a community council on education and a Network for School Excellence. These programs and initiatives work together to improve academic outcomes and well-being for Flint kids. They are closely aligned to better serve students, parents, caregivers, and families.

Flint Early Childhood Collaborative
Decades of research and practice in early childhood development affirm one inescapable conclusion: the experiences children have in their first five years of life shape their brains and bodies in lasting ways. Even as we have come to understand more of what children need to thrive, several factors—economic, social, and demographic— make it difficult for low-income parents to give it to them. This opportunity gap, if unaddressed, becomes an achievement gap. Fortunately, the Flint Early Childhood Collaborative has committed to partnering with families, schools, funders, and community-based organizations to ensure that income does not determine Flint kids' destinies.

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Early Childhood Questions?

Contact Angela Hood, Executive Director of Educare Flint & Flint Early Childhood Collaborative
ahood@theflintcenter.org

Network for School Excellence
The Network for School Excellence is working to disrupt the links between poverty, race, and educational opportunities that systematically disadvantage children of color from low-income families by partnering with public school leaders to ensure Flint kids thrive regardless of where they attend school. Using ideas generated from improvement science, the Network engages leaders in identifying, financing, adapting, evaluating, and successfully scaling promising practices that provide Flint kids the best opportunities to thrive in any path they choose.

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School Improvement Questions?

Contact Keiona Murphy, Director of Network School Excellence
kmurphy@theflintcenter.org

Community Education, Afterschool & Summer
Community Education helps students, families, educators, residents and community-based organizations work together to offer comprehensive academic, social, and health services that are responsive to the unique needs and interests of students, their families and neighborhoods. The Flint Center partners with schools serving Flint kids to provide Community Education initiatives that include two-generational (2gen) approaches, success mentoring, afterschool programs, and comprehensive student support services.

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Community Schools Questions?

Contact Kerry Downs, Director of Community Education Initiatives
kdowns@theflintcenter.org

Community Council on Education
The Community Council on Education fulfills a vital role in ensuring Flint kids thrive by amplifying the needs, perspectives, and current realities of Flint kids and creating opportunities that position Flint kids to thrive in any path they choose. The overarching aim of the Community Council is to improve access and outcomes for Flint kids by shifting and sharing power with the community in a way that accounts for and transcends the current dynamics in Flint’s educational ecosystem.

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Community Partnership Questions?

Contact Ja'Nel Jamerson, Executive Director
jjamerson@theflintcenter.org

Flint Parent Collaborative
The Flint Parent Collaborative plays an instrumental role in amplifying the voices of parents, caregivers, and other caring adults in the lives of Flint kids to raise awareness about the issues and opportunities that impact the educational success of Flint kids. Developed and led by Flint families, the Flint Parent Collaborative advocates for improvements in services and policies that make the best possible educational opportunities available to Flint kids.

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Family Partnership Questions?

Contact Angela Hood, Executive Director of Educare Flint & Flint Early Childhood Collaborative
ahood@theflintcenter.org

Flint Kids Thrive!

Discover how The Flint Center for Educational Excellence is creating a system that works for all Flint kids by providing high quality educational programs, research, and advocacy.

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