Early Childhood Education

Maher Charitable Foundation’s investments are informed by evidence that high-quality early childhood care and education have a two-generation impact. When parents are able to work with the confidence that their children are safe and happy, children have a greater opportunity to succeed in school and secure their futures. 

Understanding the importance of a multi-faceted approach, Maher’s grantmaking and related activities focus on two areas of early education:

1. Create Facilities

We help create and expand early learning facilities that enhance children’s lives and transform neighborhoods.

In the Ironbound section of Newark, Maher Charitable Foundation partnered with the Ironbound Community Corporation to add an infant and toddler Early Head Start program to an existing pre-K center. Completed in 2011, this project created seamless birth through pre-K child care and education for children and their families.

The foundation’s second capital project was completed in 2019. It involved the rehabilitation of Children’s Day Nursery in Passaic, which has served two-to five-year olds from immigrant families for more than 100 years. Partnering with the Henry & Marilyn Taub Foundation, the renovation upgraded a 114-year-old school for an enhanced learning environment with space for parent and community meetings and for children’s therapeutic services.

In 2017, Maher Charitable Foundation began a third facility development project in the South Ward of Newark—the most complex to date. The project involved not only construction, but also capacity building and organizational development with two experienced early childhood partners: La Casa de Don Pedro, providing Early Head Start to infants and toddlers, and Clinton Hill Community and Early Education Center, providing state-funded pre-K to three and four-year-olds. Opened in March 2022, the state-of-the-art 40,000 square foot facility serves 198 children and includes a community multipurpose room and a family childcare provider hub.

Maher Charitable Foundation aims to magnify the impact of the early learning center by encouraging and supporting the sustainability of an effective community-based development organization, Clinton Hill Community Action, filling a void that has existed in the neighborhood since 2008.

2. Support Advocacy

We work to expand New Jersey’s high-quality pre-K to all eligible children by supporting advocacy that aligns with this goal.

In 2008, the State of New Jersey passed legislation to expand the state’s high-quality pre-K education from 35 school districts to more than 200 school districts, but it did not provide the funding to underwrite that expansion.

In 2014, Maher Charitable Foundation created a nonprofit organization, Pre-K Our Way, to advocate for funding of this legislative mandate. Ten other philanthropic organizations joined former governors Tom Kean and Jim Florio and statewide child advocacy and business organizations in this effort. We’ve seen the positive impact through:

– More than $187 million being appropriated for expansion, with bipartisan support.

– A growth of total enrollment in pre-K, with 16,600 more 3 and 4-year-olds in programs.

– More than 175 school districts providing preK to children, many in a mixed delivery system that includes community-based providers.

Contributing to the effective uptake of pre-K expansion across the state, Maher Charitable Foundation has also funded work of the acclaimed National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers (NIEER) and Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), the leading state advocacy organization for children’s issues. These two organizations assist local school districts and community providers in applying for expansion funding. Both NIEER and ACNJ encourage the state and local school districts to include experienced community-based early childhood programs in their expansion plans. Such an approach enhances the diversity of the early childhood workforce and supports long-standing community organizations.

Looking to the Future

Maher Charitable Foundation has long believed that philanthropy can help expand and improve childcare and early childhood learning in New Jersey, contributing to family well-being and better student outcomes. To that end, Maher has invested in 

  1. Advocating for a greater public investment in early care and learning — making childcare more available and affordable to working families 

  2. Promoting the idea that early childhood facilities are a child’s “third teacher” and investing in high quality learning spaces for children from birth through age 5 

  3. Encouraging the enhanced training and compensation of early childhood caregivers and teaching staff.

Maher Charitable Foundation works with other philanthropic partners in the state, including the NJ Early Years Funders’ Collaborative, and nationally through the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative. We encourage other philanthropies to invest in early childhood and to partner on effective advocacy and programs.