Our impact, their future.

Through SproutFive’s work – for the past 100 years – generations of littles thrive.

This year we were able to add 201 littles and their families to our legacy.

On Behalf of SproutFive

There is a concept in child development and broader psychology known as self-regulation. In the simplest of terms, self-regulation is the ability to understand and manage your behaviors and emotions. It is the process that allows us to focus on a task, calm ourselves down, and adjust to change. Self-regulation is a skill that requires work and practice to master, especially when dealing with littles who have experienced trauma.

At SproutFive™, one of the ways we assess self-regulation is by using a measure that teaches how a little regulates their own emotions and behaviors. The tool assesses littles as they manage feelings, follow limits and expectations, and take care of their own needs appropriately. Using colored bands that show the range of widely held expectations for littles their age, the assessment is completed. If a little's knowledge, skills, and abilities are evaluated at a level within the range shown by the colored band, the little's performance meets (or exceeds!) widely held expectations.

If we were to consider SproutFive’s “self-regulation” over the past year, I would say we are well exceeding widely held expectations. Despite another year of COVD-19 uncertainties, and continued strain on the field of early education, SproutFive has been able to focus, adapt, and grow our team, our practices, and our impact.

It is my honor to share with you the 2021-2022 Impact Report. However, before sharing in the success of this past year, I want to take a moment to pause and say “thank you.” If you are reading this Impact Report it means you have played a role in helping develop the “self-regulation” of SproutFive. Be it in giving your interest, voice, talent, time or treasure, you have helped us in serving our mission to ensure every child benefits from a holistic, high-quality early education. For that, I cannot thank you enough.

After reviewing the impact we have had this year, please consider joining us at the forefront of the movement to ensure littles have access to the holistic learning experiences they need to develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically during their critical first five years of life.

For a stronger beginning, and beyond,

Colin Page McGinnis
Chief Executive Officer

Download a PDF version of the 2021 Annual Report

Our 2021-2022 Financials

In 2021, our work was needed more than ever as families adapted to new realities and new needs. Now more than ever, SproutFive is committed to doing whatever it takes to reimagine early learning.

Download our audited financials.

Income

Expenses

To view breakdown of income and expenses by category, hover over the segments of pie chart. All amounts shown in dollars.

  • Program Outcomes

  • Program Outcomes

  • Program Outcomes

  • Program Outcomes

Every week day, 6a.m. to 6p.m., we open our doors to children and families. This year littles attended an average of 135 days of high-quality early learning. In addition to our core curriculum, these hours included visits from friends like Columbus’ Jazz Arts Group and Ballet Met. At SproutFive, it is our goal to provide as many opportunities to our families as possible. To enroll your child at SproutFive, please visit our enrollment page.

Average Days of Attendance Per Month Per Child

SproutFive Hilltop was closed August 2021 for summer recess. We opened our Jenkins school and temporary closed our Hilltop school in inception of a new location in June 2022. 18 enrolled children at Jenkins attended on average 6.74 days.

Monthly Enrollment

SproutFive operated under reduced capacity until September 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

55,005 nutritious meals and counting

Through our Full Bellies, Full Minds program which provides a healthy breakfast, lunch and snack to children at SproutFive in partnership with Mid-Ohio Food Collective’s Roots Cafe, we served over 55,000 meals. These meals are served family-style, and allow our students the opportunity to continue learning while breaking bread.

Kindergarten ready

In Franklin County, only 43% of children are ready for kindergarten by the time they graduate preschool. “Kindergarten readiness” is used by educators to describe the set of skills and tools a child will need to be successful as they move into kindergarten. In Ohio, emphasis is on ensuring a child is physically, socially and emotionally ready to participate in school. This means, in addition to academic skills like mastering foundational literacy and mathematic skills, other abilities such as keeping hands to ourselves, cooperating and playing with others, communicating needs effectively, using the restroom independently, and properly cutting with scissors are also important.

While there are several measures to assess kindergarten readiness (local school districts will administer a formal assessment before enrolling children in kindergarten), SproutFive uses six domains of development (social-emotional, physical, language, cognition, literacy, and math) of Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG) to determine if a preschooler is ready to move on. To be deemed ready for kindergarten, a child must meet or exceed developmental expectations in all six domains.

This year, we saw amazing outcomes for our 36 graduates. Using the TSG, 99% of our students were determined to be kindergarten ready.

Child outcomes

Fall data

Winter data

Spring data

Family support

  • Supporting Housing.

    Learn how through the Family Resource Center, Veronica was able to access the tangible support she so desperately needed. She was provided with the resources that would help her pay for her first and last month’s rent, deposit, and also pay to have a moving company help with her move.

  • Supporting Families With Rising Rents.

    Learn how the Family Resource Center was able to provide the entire amount she needed so that Cayla and her littles were able to move into an affordable new home where they are now all thriving.

  • Supporting Families in the Formula Crisis.

    Learn how The Family Resource Center was able to provide 1,789.2oz of formula to our families at no cost during the 2022 formula crisis, thanks to the quick response of our donors and volunteers like you.

Read More

Introducing the SproutFive Center for Early Childhood Innovation

The SproutFive Center for Early Childhood Innovation is an open-access research center focused on developing, evaluating, and refining best practices in early childhood education to close equity and access gaps for young children and their families. Through collaboration with South Side Early Learning’s classroom-based programs, The Center’s research explores topics pertaining to the early childhood workforce, child well-being, and 21st-century classroom practices.

White papers and publications

  • Combating Childhood Trauma Through Policy and Action

    Read more.

  • Designing and Piloting a Soccer- Based Emergent Literacy Curriculum

    Read more.

  • Ohio Budget Should Focus on Quality and Compensation

    Read more.

  • One-Dollar Rent: An Innovative Policy Solution for Nonprofit Organizations

    Read more.

  • Mending The Glass: Why Early Childhood Policy Should Support Early Childhood Educators

    Read more.

  • Food Insecurity in a Nationally Representative Sample of Child Care Workers

    Read more.

  • Live-learn: The Powerful Combination of Affordable Housing and Affordable High-Quality Early Childhood Education

    Read more.

The Road Ahead

When the things that many of us take for granted—effective schools, spaces to play, decent housing, safe streets—are nonexistent or marginal at best, families with young children, especially those already in fragile situations due to the effects of systemic poverty and racism, are not afforded equal access to the opportunities needed to thrive.

For a century, SproutFive has focused on delivering and leveraging a holistic, high-quality early education as a mechanism for community development. By coordinating classroom instruction with cooperative case management of families, we are able to address critical needs of littles and families while investing in the physical and social infrastructure of the neighborhoods we serve.

Our schools utilize a model and approach adapted from a century’s worth of experience, aligned with a discipline of practice similar to that used in the community schools movement. In doing so, our schools are co-located with like minded host partners in nonprofit hubs, affordable housing complexes, education institutions and employer campuses.

Through this approach we have achieved results that would, at least on paper, otherwise be unlikely—nearly all of our littles leaving SproutFive kindergarten ready, when the same is true for only 40% of their peers across Franklin county.

As we enter into the beginning of our next century of care and education, we are proud to focus our attention on expanding and sharing in the success of our model and approach. Our goals are ambitious, but with the team at hand and support of individuals like yourself we believe they are possible. However, what exactly does this mean?

It means we will be adding new schools, with an ambitious goal to serve over 700 littles by 2025. It means we will be training both pre-service and in-service teachers to keep them engaged, interested, and advancing in their careers. It means we will be working to provide meals that are even healthier, fresher, and more nutritious for our littles. It means we will be advancing innovation and policy within the sector. Most importantly, it means we will be truly reimagining early education.

I am excited for the road ahead for SproutFive, to see how this century-old organization blooms, if you will. It is my sincere hope that you join us in our “next.”

For a successful beginning, and beyond,

Kathleen Husted
Director of Growth and Vision

Download a PDF version of the 2021 Annual Report

Invest in our littles. Invest in our tomorrow.

Join the SproutFive team at the forefront of the movement to ensure littles have access to the holistic learning experiences they need to develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically during their critical first five years of life.

The SproutFive Leadership Team

  • Colin Page McGinnis

    CEO

  • Levi Thies

    Chief of Staff

  • PJ Gamble

    Sr. Dir. Development

  • Amy Valentine

    Sr. Dir. Finance and Business Operations

  • Dr. Jaclyn Dynia

    Sr. Dir. Innovation and Research

  • Thia Thissen

    Dir. Family and Student Services

  • Kathleen Husted

    Dir. Growth and Vision

  • Franki Sibberson, M.Ed.

    Dir. NUDL Institute for Professional Learning

  • Cindy Carlton

    Dir. Compliance

  • Julia Paxton, MSW, LSW

    Evaluation Analyst, Social Worker

  • Denise Hurley

    School Director, SproutFive Reeb

  • Alicia Wiggins

    School Director, SproutFive Jenkins

  • Seqoya Reedus

    School Director, SproutFive Atcheson

2021-2022 Board of Trustees

Beth Fisher, President

Marilyn Miller, VP President Brad Tobe, Treasurer Beth Korda, Secretary Shiloh Todorov, Immediate Past President Tobi Furman Stan Jacot Nick Jones Molly Werhan Scott Milburn Heather Slattery Mindy Billingham Lauren Hagan Nicole Luthy LaToya Robinson Brian Luria, Young Professional Board Chair Megan Cremeans, Board Fellow Mackenzie Danis, Board Fellow Ryan Kucera, Board Fellow

Brad Tobe, Treasurer

Beth Korda, Secretary

Shiloh Todorov, Immediate Past President

Tobi Furman

Stan Jacot

Nick Jones

Molly Werhan

Scott Milburn

Heather Slattery

Mindy Billingham

Lauren Hagan

Nicole Luthy

LaToya Robinson

Brian Luria, Young Professional Board Chair

Megan Cremeans, Board Fellow

Mackenzie Danis, Board Fellow

Ryan Kucera, Board Fellow

Beth Fisher, President Marilyn Miller, VP President Brad Tobe, Treasurer Beth Korda, Secretary Shiloh Todorov, Immediate Past President Tobi Furman Stan Jacot Nick Jones Molly Werhan Scott Milburn Heather Slattery Mindy Billingham Lauren Hagan Nicole Luthy LaToya Robinson Brian Luria, Young Professional Board Chair Megan Cremeans, Board Fellow Mackenzie Danis, Board Fellow Ryan Kucera, Board Fellow Brad Tobe, Treasurer Beth Korda, Secretary Shiloh Todorov, Immediate Past President Tobi Furman Stan Jacot Nick Jones Molly Werhan Scott Milburn Heather Slattery Mindy Billingham Lauren Hagan Nicole Luthy LaToya Robinson Brian Luria, Young Professional Board Chair Megan Cremeans, Board Fellow Mackenzie Danis, Board Fellow Ryan Kucera, Board Fellow

Join the team

While from the outside our work appears to be a collection of classrooms across the city of Columbus, behind the scenes is a team working at the forefront of a movement to ensure children have access to holistic learning experiences they need to develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically during those critical first five years of life. Our work goes beyond “just child care,” as we work to support the people who support the children. The families. The teachers. The communities. Because, as they say, “it takes a village.” We’re here to empower that village, ensure the very best starts for our children.

Join the SproutFive family and make a difference in the lives our littles in our community.