The Kislak Family Foundation Awards Jack & Jill Center a $200,000 Grant to Support Early Childhood Education
Jack & Jill Center – the longest-running nonprofit provider of early childhood education in Broward County – was awarded a $200,000 grant from the Kislak Family Foundation, Inc. The major gift will support Jack & Jill Center’s NAEYC-accredited Early Education Program, serving six weeks of age through VPK-4, and its state-of-the-art Madelaine Halmos Academy (MHA) private elementary school. The grant will benefit the Center’s mission to strengthen children and families through innovative education, supportive programming and community engagement.
For over 80 years, Jack & Jill Center has served over 30,000 children and families in South Florida. The Center supports children of working families through quality early childhood education, elementary education and family strengthening programs to ensure every child and family has the tools they need to be successful.
The Kislak name has long represented a commitment to community service and philanthropy. Presently, The Kislak Family Foundation, Inc., continues this tradition and carries on the vision of Jay I. Kislak with the mission of supporting leadership and innovation in the fields of education, arts and humanities, animal welfare and environmental preservation.
“We are grateful to the Kislak Family Foundation for awarding Jack & Jill Center with a $200,000 grant to support our programs that enrich the lives of children and their families to ensure they have the tools they need to be successful in school and life,” said Amy Jewell, CEO of Jack & Jill Center. “Through the generous support of the Kislak Family Foundation, Jack & Jill Center will continue to provide a two-generational approach enabling our children and families the ability to have successful outcomes.”
“The Kislak Family Foundation is honored to continue supporting the Jack & Jill Center in its mission to promote childhood education where it's needed most,” said Kislak Family Foundation President and CEO Tom Bartelmo.
Jack & Jill Center’s Early Education Program provides year-round early childhood education focusing on enabling children to grow emotionally, physically and socially in a safe, caring environment using age-appropriate methods for cognitive growth. The Center is open year-round, Monday through Friday, and serves children who are six-weeks to five-years-old.
Accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Jack & Jill Center’s Early Education Program has met the ten standards for high-quality early childhood education and has demonstrated and maintained a safe and healthy environment for children; employ well-trained teachers; provide access to excellent teaching materials and support a curriculum that is appropriately challenging and developmentally sound.
MHA is an expansion of Jack & Jill Center’s Early Education Center and debuted its state-of-the-art elementary school in June 2021. MHA provides a safe, academically sound and socially supportive environment for all learners. With its new building, MHA significantly extended its offerings by providing a school in the process of accreditation incorporating research-based best practices.
MHA’s unique features include STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) curriculum; dedicated, highly-skilled staff and educators with low student-to-teacher ratios; engaging extracurricular activities fostering healthy social-emotional growth and personal development; integrated classroom technology including smart boards and individual devices for each student; individualized instructional approaches; interactive, educational field trips; extended day programming (before- and after-school care and camps); daily healthy breakfast, lunch and snacks; family wraparound support programs; health services; on-site counseling and therapeutic services including two on-campus therapy assisted dogs; and summer camp experiences.
Additionally, each child who graduates from fifth grade and continues their education to graduate from high school will receive a college scholarship, established through the Florida Prepaid College Plan, from the Jack & Jill Center Opportunity Scholarship Fund. Through the Jack & Jill Center Opportunity Scholarship Fund, 98 students have been awarded college scholarships since 2022. The sponsorship is graciously funded by Steve and Madelaine Halmos through an endowment fund, the Steve and Madelaine Halmos Children’s Opportunity Fund, they established at the Community Foundation of Broward which supports scholarships for the children at Jack & Jill Center.
MHA’s kindergarten through fifth-grade program currently serves over 175 total students from Broward County, including early education and elementary school education, who benefit from the Jack & Jill education program. MHA has the capability to serve 220 students in total.
All Jack & Jill Center’s children and families have unrestricted access to the school’s HEALTH Program, including an on-site School Nurse. Services provided through this program are an essential piece of Jack & Jill Center’s comprehensive and holistic approach to service. Through comprehensive health assessments, provision of health services, preventative healthcare and community partnerships, the HEALTH program has a significant positive impact on the health and wellness of students, families and the community.
Jack & Jill Center’s comprehensive Family Program engages and supports families by providing intensive parent education, case management, referrals and a variety of other support services including, one-on-one financial coaching, therapeutic services, counseling, access to the Family Resource Room and computer lab, emergency assistance fund. Through this program, families gain the skills, knowledge and resources they need to increase self-sufficiency and foster their child's healthy growth and development.
For more information about Jack & Jill, visit jackandjillcenter.org
ML Staff. Images courtesy of Jack & Jill Center