Our History
Throughout its history, Learn to Earn Dayton has adapted and partnered to address the educational needs of our community’s children.
In all of our work, Learn to Earn Dayton is particularly focused on equity. Opportunity should not depend on what you look like or where you grow up. With well-researched best practices, closely reviewed data, and a deep understanding of our region, we work to identify and eliminate practices that perpetuate inequities, particularly for Black and Latinx students and students experiencing poverty.
Honors & Affiliations
Learn to Earn Dayton is a proud member of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, a national movement of 70 communities working to get better results for 10.5 million students across the country. The Cradle to Career Network involves 10,800 organizations in 30 states and Washington, DC. ​In 2023, Dayton/Montgomery County received StriveTogether's highest designation for driving student success through data-driven best practices.
In 2020, Learn to Earn was recognized for its leadership of the Montgomery County Birth to 3 Collaborative and was awarded a 3-year $350,000 grant by the Pritzker Community Initiative. This funding is supporting expanded access to early interventions for infants and toddlers, including evidenced-based home visiting, with a particular focus on improving health and education outcomes for African-American young children.
In 2019, under the leadership of Learn to Earn Dayton, Dayton was one of 10 communities selected to promote economic mobility in partnership with What Works Cities, an initiative sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
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We work closely with the Lumina Foundation and share its national educational attainment goal of 60% of the adult workforce with a degree or high-quality credential. In 2017, Lumina selected Dayton as one of 17 cities to earn its inaugural "Talent Hub" distinction.
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In partnership with Dayton’s former mayor Nan Whaley, Learn to Earn Dayton joined the National League of Cities Early Learning Nation initiative.
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As part of the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, our community has been recognized multiple times as a “Pacesetter.”
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Dayton is a 3-time All-America City Award recipient. In 2017, it was recognized for its support for Learn to Earn Dayton and the community's work to promote school attendance and summer learning, as well as for exemplary efforts around civic engagement and inclusiveness.