Helping children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn begins long before the first day of school. Through two recent investments, the Barberton Community Foundation is partnering with the Early Childhood Resource Center (ECRC) to strengthen early learning opportunities for Barberton families and childcare providers.
The Foundation awarded $25,000 to support the SPARK program (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids), an in-home kindergarten readiness program that works directly with families to build early learning skills.
Through this grant, 10 children living in the Barberton City School District will be enrolled in SPARK, receiving individualized learning support through August 2026. Each family is paired with a trained home visitor called a parent partner, who meets with the family once or twice each month to guide learning activities focused on early literacy, math, motor development, and social-emotional skills.
During each visit, families receive a SPARK learning kit containing a new book, activity card, and educational supplies so parents can continue working with their child between sessions. The program is designed to empower parents in their role as their child’s most important teacher while helping children build the skills they need to succeed in school. SPARK was created in Canton in 2003 and has since served more than 20,000 preschoolers across Ohio. Independent evaluations conducted by Kent State University have shown for 19 consecutive years that SPARK participants outperform their peers on the Ohio Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, particularly in language and literacy benchmarks linked to reading success by third grade.
The Foundation also previously awarded $36,000 to support Barberton’s participation in the Unified Early Learning System (UELS), a collaborative initiative designed to strengthen early childhood education across Summit County.
Managed by the Early Childhood Resource Center in partnership with the City of Akron, UELS brings together childcare providers, community partners, and families to improve the quality and accessibility of early learning. Participating childcare programs receive business and leadership support, workforce development assistance, and resources to improve program quality, while families benefit from expanded wraparound services and access to community resources.
Barberton Community Foundation is proud to partner with an organization like the Early Childhood Resource Center as we advance our strategic focus on supporting our youngest residents. By strengthening both family learning experiences and the childcare programs that serve them, these investments help ensure more Barberton children enter kindergarten ready to succeed.