UCC Early Learning Academy Site Visit

Following up on the Herzfeld Foundation’s first-ever open solicitation for grant applications from Milwaukee early childhood education (ECE) providers, three members of the Board of Directors paid a visit to the United Community Center’s Ricardo Diaz Early Learning Academy in early November.

Directors Donna Baumgartner, Alec Fraser, and Katie Heil joined me for a tour of the academy hosted by UCC Executive Director Laura Gutierrez. The academy opened in 2020 and serves about 350 children ages six weeks through three years old. It is nationally accredited and has earned a 5-star rating (the state’s highest) under the YoungStar program.

Some of the unique factors that particularly stood out for our Directors included the Academy’s strong emphasis on parent engagement and support, its expansive indoor and outdoor play areas, and the existence of onsite health and dental services provided through partnerships with 16^th Street Community Health Centers and Ascension.

Throughout the tour, Laura explained that the UCC sees its early learning academy as a school, and not a daycare center. As such, parents are expected to ensure their children maintain high levels of attendance and complete “homework” assignments that ensure early learning continues outside of the classroom.

The Foundation proudly awarded a $50,000 grant to UCC in late September that will be used to expand and deepen family engagement in the organization’s ECE programs. We’ll also be considering support for UCC’s new campaign to build a second early learning academy on Milwaukee’s South Side that would serve an additional 250 early learners and eliminate UCC’s current ECE waitlist of more than 120 children.

UCC reports that first graders who attended its early learning programs scored 13 points higher in reading and math than their peers who did not attend. With outcomes like that and a continued shortage of high-quality ECE slots in Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods, the effort to expand the UCC’s successful model certainly appears warranted.