Freshwater Cleveland | July 2, 2015

Whatever you do, don’t tell private, early educators like Stephanie Moore that they are only babysitters.

“It’s like a slap in the face,” said Moore, director of the St. Augustine Manor Child Enrichment Center near Detroit Avenue and West 80th Street. “Not only is this a daycare center, but we’re at the same level as a preschool in a local school district.”

Whether a child goes to such a center, attends highly-rated Cleveland Metropolitan School District preschool classes at schools like Adlai E. Stevenson or Memorial, or is enrolled in a Head Start program isn’t quite as important as the quality of the education provided. Increasing preschool access to all three- and four-year-olds in the city is now a shared goal that unites politicians, educators, corporations and nonprofits under one banner: PRE4CLE.

Read more…