Nichole Flowers is a mother of six children living in North Minneapolis. Her youngest child, Stephon, recently received an early learning scholarship. She shares her story in this video. Nichole’s story illustrates the many benefits of high-quality early care and education.

Early learning scholarships support high-quality care and allow parents to choose what is best for their family. Nichole wants Stephon to attend Northside Child Development Center because it is in her community, and because she already knows the staff. Northside CDC is four-star Parent Aware rated, meaning they use best practices for preparing children for kindergarten. Nichole has seen this first hand with her kids. Stephon interacts with other children daily, which supports his social-emotional development. He shares what he learns in the classroom with Nichole, who is excited to support him at home. They read books together and review his colors and numbers often.

Early learning scholarships are an effective way to support the whole family. In addition to preparing Stephon for success, the early learning scholarship gives Nichole peace of mind while at work. Before receiving the scholarship, Nichole was anxious about how she would afford quality care for her youngest son while she was at work. She notes, “Without that support, I know that it would definitely be hard. More than likely I would be struggling.” With the scholarship, she’s able to confidently and consistently do her job as Program Director of Youth Services at Urban Ventures.

Thanks to early learning scholarships and high-quality early learning programs, Nichole reports that all of her children have been kindergarten ready. She observes how essential high-quality child care is, “It’s that starting point. It’s that building block and having that early building block helps you later on in life.”