Partner Spotlight: Preschool Promise

Q.   Tell us a little about your organization. Where are you located? Who do you serve and what do you focus on?

A. Preschool Promise is a nonprofit organization located in Dayton, Ohio, serving families in Montgomery County. Our vision is that every child in Montgomery County, Ohio, is ready for success in Kindergarten and beyond, and we are committed to transforming early care and education, ensuring that every child has equitable, high-quality and affordable programs and services from prenatal to age five. We partner with 125 early childhood care centers in the county.

Q.   When was your organization founded, and what inspired your mission?

A. Preschool Promise was founded in 2007, emerging from the Montgomery County Early Care and Education Initiative when community advocates formed ReadySetSoar to improve children’s readiness for kindergarten and third-grade reading proficiency. The mission was inspired by a shared commitment to strengthening early learning outcomes and ensuring children entered school prepared to succeed. Over time, ReadySetSoar collaborated closely with Learn to Earn Dayton, and in 2015, the organizations merged to become Montgomery County’s cradle-to-career education initiative.

In 2016, Dayton voters approved a 0.25% income tax increase to support one year of affordable, high-quality preschool for all Dayton families with four-year-olds, institutionalizing Preschool Promise and providing sustained public funding. Following successful pilot programs, Preschool Promise became a stand-alone 501(c)(3) organization continuing its mission to expand access to quality early childhood education and improve long-term educational outcomes. Preschool Promise expanded across the entire City of Dayton in the 2017–18 school year and continued to expand across Montgomery County in the following years.

Q. How do you partner with families and communities in your work?

A. Preschool Promise partners with families in all facets of our work. It is part of our philosophy to come alongside parents and caregivers to provide a holistic approach to a child’s development in and outside of the classroom. That is why it is imperative that children receive opportunities to continue their education and learning at home.

Our Book of the Month and Play Kits are important tools in how we partner with families to support early learning at home. These resources empower parents and caregivers with simple, developmentally appropriate ways to build literacy, language, and social-emotional skills during everyday moments. By providing books and hands-on activities, we help families feel confident as their child’s first and most important teachers.

These programs also strengthen our connection with families by reinforcing that learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door. They create shared experiences between children and caregivers, support positive routines, and reflect our commitment to work alongside families to remove barriers and promote school readiness.

Preschool Promise has helped to launch Be Ready by 5, a collaboration of organizations in Montgomery County committed to working together to help prepare families with children ages 0-5 with improvements to health, education, and wellness support. Be Ready by 5 helps families access resources in pregnancy support, parent and family connections, developmental milestones, health, wellness and safety, and high-quality child care and preschool.

Q. How did you first hear about or get involved with Groundwork Ohio?

A. I first learned about Groundwork in 2010. I was leading the early childhood collaborative work in Montgomery County and at the time, Katie Kelly was leading the Groundwork initiative and Margaret Hulbert was the volunteer leader. I was happy to learn from the incredible group of early childhood leaders across the state of Ohio who served on the Groundwork Advisory Council. I was eventually part of the first Board of Directors when Groundwork officially became a 501c3. It’s been a great honor to be part of Groundwork over so many years and see the incredible progress and evolution from a campaign to a well-established, statewide and nationally recognized nonprofit. 

-Robyn Lightcap, President & CEO of Preschool Promise and Groundwork Ohio Board Member

Q. What keeps your team inspired or grounded in this work?

A. Moving the needle is what drives our team. We are constantly working to help children succeed in kindergarten and beyond, knowing that the first five years of life are the most formative. Families place a great deal of trust in us to help remove barriers to opportunity, and our work is guided by the voices of parents, early childhood providers, and advocates. Even in challenging moments, we remain inspired by the belief that investing in young children is one of the most meaningful ways to strengthen families, schools, and our community’s future.

Q. Why is advocacy important to your work?

A. Advocacy is essential to our work because sustainable access to high-quality early childhood education depends on strong public awareness, supportive policies, and stable funding. Our mission is rooted in ensuring that all children, regardless of family income or zip code, enter kindergarten ready to succeed, and advocacy allows us to elevate the voices of children, families, and educators who are often underrepresented in policy decisions.

Through advocacy, we help decision-makers understand the long-term educational and economic benefits of investing in early learning. The success of Preschool Promise itself, made possible through voter-approved public funding, demonstrates how informed, community-driven advocacy can lead to lasting systems change. By engaging families, providers, and community partners, we work to protect and expand policies that strengthen early childhood education, improve quality, and ensure equitable access for all children in our community.

Q. What do you think is important to help make Ohio the best place to be a young child?

A. To make Ohio the best place to be a young child, it is essential to invest in a strong, equitable early childhood system that supports children from birth through their earliest years of learning. This includes ensuring access to affordable, high-quality early care and education, supporting and fairly compensating the early childhood workforce, and providing families with the resources they need to thrive.

Equally important is a coordinated, statewide approach that aligns early learning, health, and family support systems so children are developmentally ready when they enter school. Ohio’s future depends on recognizing early childhood as a shared public responsibility, one that requires sustained public investment, data-informed decision-making, and meaningful partnerships across communities. By prioritizing early learning and family well-being, Ohio can create lasting educational, social, and economic benefits for all.