About Us

PRE4CLE is dedicated to ensuring that every child in Cleveland has access to a high-quality preschool education.

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Our mission

PRE4CLE’s mission is to expand access to high-quality preschool to every child in the City of Cleveland.

Our vision

Every child in the City of Cleveland enters kindergarten ready to succeed.

Our history

March 11, 2014

PRE4CLE officially launches!

December 2014

President Barack Obama praises PRE4CLE as model for collaboration at the White House Summit on Early Education

May 2015

PRE4CLE celebrates the induction of the first 90 PRE4CLE Preschool providers

June 2015

33% of Cleveland preschoolers enrolled in high-quality preschool

July 2015

Classroom expansion grants create 180 new high-quality preschool seats

November 2015

Cuyahoga County passes $10 million expansion of UPK programs with $12 million private match to create 2,000 new UPK seats

2015

Cleveland surpasses 100 high-quality preschool providers throughout the city

August 2016

PRE4CLE launches an outreach and enrollment campaign to engage families resulting in more than 400 preschool referrals in the first two years.

December 2016

First PRE4CLE Plan update is published

June 2017

PRE4CLE's Second Annual Report is released, highlighting that 4,277 children were enrolled in high-quality preschool across Cleveland

July 2018

PRE4CLE's Accelerated Quality Improvement Model helps unrated and lower quality preschools receive high-quality ratings

August 2018

PRE4CLE hosts the first Preschool Palooza at the Children’s Museum of Cleveland

September 2019

PRE4CLE celebrates five years of progress and a 72% increase in preschool enrollment

November 2019

70% of children who regularly attended high-quality preschool were demonstrating or approaching kindergarten readiness

March 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic shuts down early childhood providers city-wide

2020

Cleveland surpassed 200 high-quality preschool providers

April 2022

Cleveland Early Learning Spaces is launched to address early learning facilities in Cleveland

January 2023

The PRE4CLE Plan Refresh is published

December 2024

Number of kids enrolled in high-quality preschool returns to pre-pandemic levels.

Learn More About Our Work

Our Steering Committee

The PRE4CLE Steering Committee is a public-private leadership body that is responsible for developing, guiding, and collaboratively participating in the PRE4CLE Plan.

Executive Committee

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Marcia Egbert

Co-Chair

Program Director for Thriving Families & Social Justice, The George Gund Foundation

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Dr. Warren Morgan

Co-Chair

CEO, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

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Dr. Shawna Rohrman

Director, Invest In Children/Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood

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Dr. Mark Sniderman

Private Citizen

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Michele Pomerantz

Chief of Education, The City of Cleveland

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Dr. Jennifer Dodd

Assistant Superintendent, The Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio

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Nancy Mendez

President and CEO, Starting Point

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Dr. Bob Mengerink

Superintendent, The Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio

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Dr. Selena Florence

Chief Academic Officer, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Steering Committee Members

Lisa Arraj

Teacher, Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Membership Chair, Cleveland Teachers Union

Carole Beaty

Chief Program Officer, Family & Work Programs, The Centers

Erin Deimling

Vice President & Director, Client and Community Relations, PNC Bank

Dr. Rob Fischer

Director, Center on Poverty & Community Development, Case Western Reserve University

Jose Gonzalez

Student Services Officer/Deputy Chief of Student Services, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Kathleen Hallissey

Vice President, Grantmaking, The Cleveland Foundation

Denise Hallman

Early Childhood Education Manager,  Ideastream Public Media

Jacqueline Lamb

Senior Director, Youth & Family Engagement, Cleveland Public Library

Karen Mintzer

Director, Bright Beginnings

Mary Rose Molnar

Site Administrator, Villa Head Start

Eric Morse

President and CEO, The Centers

Ann Mullin

Executive Vice President and Program Director, Education, The George Gund Foundation

Dr. LaQuetha Nelson

Owner & Administrator, Tiny Footprints

Kara Porter

Vice President, Strategy, Starting Point

Dr. Meagan Ray-Novak

Research Associate, Center on Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University

Michelle Rzucidlo

Teacher, Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Secretary, Cleveland Teachers Union

Dr. Anna Turner

Officer of Teaching & Learning, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Felton Thomas, Jr.

Executive Director & CEO, Cleveland Public Library

Joy Welch-Bey

UPK Program Manager, Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood/Invest in Children

Samantha Whatley

Senior Manager, Head Start/ Early Head Start Business Support & Performance, Step Forward

Dr. Tatiana Wells

Program Director, Early Childhood & Teacher Education, Cuyahoga Community College

Dr. Thea Wilson

Vice President of Children & Families, Step Forward

Our Staff

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Katie Kelly

Executive Director

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Michelle Connavino

Deputy Director & Chief of Staff

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Mary Carter

Communication Director

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Dani Elliott

Cleveland Early Learning Spaces Director

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Barb Pritschau

Administrative Coordinator

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Jazmyne Lewis

Outreach and Provider Engagement Director

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Bea Traum

Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellow

Staff emails are first initial followed by last name @pre4cle.org (ie: jsmith@pre4cle.org)

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PRE4CLE partners with hundreds of preschools across the City of Cleveland.

view our list of current preschools

PRE4CLE is supported by:

Black text reads "THE GEORGE GUND FOUNDATION" in all capital letters on a transparent background.
Mt. Sinai Health Foundation logo with a green and gold Star of David above the foundation name in green text.
Saint Luke’s Foundation logo featuring a white church tower silhouette inside a green circle next to the foundation’s name in green text.
Cleveland Foundation logo with a green tree above the word "Cleveland" in green and "foundation" in pink and green text.
The image displays the text "Bruening" in large white letters and "Today Matters." in smaller light blue letters on a black background.
The Abington Foundation logo featuring a stylized tree inside a green and blue circle next to the organization's name in blue text.
PNC Foundation logo featuring an orange emblem with a triangular design next to blue text that reads "PNC Foundation" on a white background.
Thomas H. White Foundation logo with the foundation name in blue text and an orange key graphic on the right.

The Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio provides backbone support for PRE4CLE through administrative and fiscal oversight.

Want to support our work? Donate or contact a member of our team today!