Learn More About: Why Early Childhood Education
Next Door Outcomes

Next Door Outcomes

Next Door achieved one of its biggest outcomes in 2019 when the agency marked 50 years serving the Milwaukee community. While our location and scope of services have changed over time, one constant has remained – Next Door’s steadfast commitment to serving the needs of our neighborhoods.

Today, as a leader in high quality early childhood education in Milwaukee, Next Door serves nearly 1,400 children a year from birth to five years old. Our teachers and support staff provide critical academic and social-emotional programming, along with parent engagement opportunities and community resources.

We have been working hard to combat one our industry’s biggest challenges – a national teacher shortage for early childhood educators. Since 2019, we have implemented a series of measures to attract and maintain a high quality staff. They include: raising Next Door’s minimum wage to $15 an hour,  prepaid tuition assistance, loans for unexpected life costs and a success coach working with staff members to address work and life challenges.

Below is a look at three additional areas representing a significant part of our work. You can also click HERE to view our latest Report to the Community.

Student Outcomes (2018-2019)

Next Door’s emphasis on literacy and math for three to five-year-old children resulted in positive gains in the 2018-2019 school year. For example, our four-year-old children saw a 41% increase  in math from fall to spring and a 37% increase in reading over the same period.

Additionally, 75% of our classrooms scored in the top 10% nationally for a teacher-student interaction assessment called CLASS. We also marked an 87% student attendance rate.

The graphic below illustrates Next Door students meeting developmental benchmarks.

Family Support Outcomes (2018-2019)

Click HERE to see the many service areas provided to our families.

Community Partnerships

We have continued to grow community partnerships to enhance the quality and impact of our work. A major outcome in this area was the opening of Next Door’s Family Success Center in 2019.

The Family Success Center offers a hub of much-needed services for Next Door families and neighborhood residents including basic healthcare screenings, medical diagnoses of autism for children, employment support and family navigation services. Our partners include Children’s Wisconsin, Maximus, Medical College of Wisconsin and the Next Step Clinic led by Marquette University and Mental Health America of Wisconsin.