Every child who lives in Flint should have the same opportunity to succeed as a child who lives in a more affluent community anywhere else in our state or country. Achieving that requires high-quality educational opportunities — from cradle to college and career — and collaboration among many community partners.

And that support needs to start with our youngest learners.

Some of the Mott Foundation’s earliest grantmaking related to early childhood education started in the 1930s with funding for programs within Flint Community Schools. Our grant funding supported the preschool story hour and Tot Lot program. Launched in 1937, the FCS’ Tot Lot program helped 4- and 5-year-old children become socially and academically prepared for school. The Foundation supported Tot Lot through 1972 via our funding for community education in Flint, followed by a total of more than $2 million in grants for the initiative between 1973 and 2017.

Creating new early childhood education centers in Flint

In 2016, the Flint water crisis put an urgent focus on the need for more high-quality early childhood education for our youngest learners.

In response, the Mott Foundation granted $1 million to help transform the former Cummings Elementary School in Flint into Cummings Great Expectations: An Early Childhood Center. The school opened in October of 2016, welcoming more than 200 Flint infants and children who were potentially exposed to lead as a result of the city’s water crisis.

In early 2017, construction began on Educare Flint, a new early childhood education center on the campus of Flint’s Durant-Tuuri-Mott Community School, thanks, in part, to $11 million in grants from the Mott Foundation. Educare opened its doors to Flint students in December of 2017.

Collectively, Educare Flint and Cummings serve approximately 400 children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Both schools focus on high-quality experiences, high staff-to-child ratios, strong relationships with students and their families, and a pipeline of resources for the entire family. Despite the lingering impacts of the Flint water crisis, kids at Educare Flint and Cummings came through the COVID-19 pandemic without statistically significant increases in social-emotional challenges, compared with the 40% of their national peers who did.

The two schools are also part of the community education initiative, helping to address barriers and providing supports and resources needed in the early learning space, as well as bridging families from early childhood to K-12 spaces.

The belief that engaged parents and family members create a stronger community is also a guiding force within the school models, with parent ambassadors meeting regularly to discuss how to increase opportunities for Flint kids.

Educare Flint feels like a second home. The staff feels like family, always resourceful and focused on the inclusivity of all children and families. It’s given both of my children a high-quality early educational experience, and it’s also helped me grow as a parent and a community leader.” Latrese Brown, Flint mom

Continuing to strengthen early childhood education and build bridges to K-12 in Flint

In 2023, the Mott Foundation granted $14 million to FCS to support renovations to the Brownell STEM Academy and Holmes STEM Middle School campus. As a part of the renovations, the district renovated the early childhood wing at Brownell and developed early childhood playgrounds in the courtyard near the new wing.

Additionally, in 2024 and 2025, the Mott Foundation granted a total of $6.4 million to the Genesee Intermediate School District to support renovations at the Summerfield Early Childhood Education Center in Flint. Improvements included a reconfigured main entrance, a repaired parking lot, an expanded playground, updated classroom amenities, and a new roof, boiler system and windows. The updates created an enhanced learning environment and a more welcoming space for young children and their families.

Strengthening early childhood education opportunities in Flint remains a priority for the Mott Foundation. We know children who receive strong early learning experiences are more likely to enter kindergarten ready to succeed, which sets them up for success in the future.

The community needs excellent early learning programming to ensure kids are kindergarten-ready and then excellent K-12 spaces ready to receive them. The Flint Center for Educational Excellence, which was launched in 2023 with more than $10 million in grant funding from Mott, is working on both sides of the equation to ensure Flint kids have the pathways they need to be successful.

The Flint Center for Educational Excellence also leads the Flint Early Childhood Collaborative, which aims to increase access to high-quality early childhood education in Flint. The Collaborative’s five guiding priorities are high-quality teaching and learning, intensive family engagement, enhanced professional development, research and data utilization, and coordinated systems.

The Educare Flint and Cummings models are consistent with the goals of the Flint Center for Educational Excellence — to innovate, demonstrate and replicate. And they evaluate to know if what they’re doing works.

Together, we can strengthen opportunities for Flint residents — from cradle to college and career.