DETROIT – ardentCause L3C, a Southeast Michigan woman-founded and woman-led technology company, was recently selected to provide data and analysis in support of ongoing, crucial evaluation services for the new Detroit Head Start Early Childhood Innovation Fund.
Programs are ramping up to provide more extensive services to young children and their families from birth until they enter kindergarten in Detroit ? one of only five cities selected to receive funding from the Birth-to-Five Head Start pilot. While many studies have firmly established that early education interventions create positive longitudinal outcomes, a report from the Early Childhood Data Collaborative found that states can do a much better job linking education data to guide decision making for programs that serve young children.
ardentCause is working to provide that linkage in Detroit with data currently collected by Head Start programs. The company will pull together different types of information across the city, and provide quality support, analytics, and dashboard tools to enable Head Start leaders make faster and better decisions, based on timely and accurate information. Community organizations will gain a current, interactive view of what works overall, and will easily be able to visualize the impact they are having on children and families in the community.
Funded by the Southeast Michigan Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, and the Detroit Head Start Early Childhood Innovation Fund, this project is designed to support Detroit Head Start programs, deliver quality services, and significantly improve outcomes for Detroit?s children and families. The three-year project, which also involves the HighScope Educational Research Foundation, will break new ground in using collective data to discover what works best in Detroit to accelerate child development and improve school readiness outcomes.
?We are thrilled to be working on this extremely important initiative,? said Rosemary Bayer, Chief Inspiration Officer for ardentCause. ?With our evolving expertise in effective data systems for the nonprofit and education sectors, we can provide so much insight to key Head Start funders, leaders and stakeholders. Our efforts will help those who are making an amazing difference in our community for children, and families, and will measurably strengthen Detroit in the process.?
