Jack & Jill Children's Center

Founded in 1942, Jack & Jill Center is a community-based organization that provides comprehensive, holistic, wraparound support services to children of high-need parents in Broward County. Our mission is to strengthen children and families through innovative education, supportive programming, and community engagement. Our accredited program supports the intellectual, emotional, physical and social development of young children. Jack & Jill Center serves 130 children ages birth to five years old in the Halmos Family Building; the Madelaine Halmos Academy, our state-of-the-art elementary school located on the Jack & Jill Campus, serves 90 children in grades K-5. Our core program includes: high-quality year-round child care accredited by NAEYC; free, hot nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack daily for children; skill building and job training workshops for parents; family literacy program including a lending library; preventative health care and education; and a food and clothing bank.

It is our Vision for every child and family to reach their full potential.

Goal One: Continue to develop and operate quality programs and service supporters for the children and families of Jack & Jill Center.

Goal Two: Grow brand awareness across all programs in order to reach families who may be interested in accessing our services, as well as volunteers & supporters who wish to support our mission.

Goal Three: To provide an environment for board members to enhance their role in leading and directing the organization in fulfillment of its vision, mission, values, and goals.

Educators and staff at Jack & Jill Center engage in both individual and group Professional Development trainings during each school year. Trainings cover a wide breadth of topics that help our teachers refine their skills, boost student outcomes and support families. Courses attended by our staff have been provided by Healthy Schools Community Outreach Program of Holy Cross Hospital; the Department of Children and Families, and Early Childhood Investigations Webinars. Additionally, our educators participate in a variety of Early Learning Florida courses. The knowledge they gain is put to daily use in the classrooms. Most subjects center on social emotional interactions and creating positive classroom environments to encourage learning. The courses typically take eight weeks and our teachers are required to do presentations, interact with other staff members and share ideas that could help to increase school-wide learning in the classroom

Like other early education centers and schools across the country, we could never have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic nor its impact on our programs. Our children, families, educators and staff have shown incredible resilience since the start of the pandemic. Despite unprecedented challenges, our team consistently meet our families' individualized needs with versatile approaches; we viewed the challenges as unique opportunities to connect with one another and process the changing world in meaningful ways. At the Early Education Center, we are currently serving over 120 children with in-person care Monday-Friday, though we have capacity for 140 children. At the Madelaine Halmos Academy, our elementary school, we are serving 90 children in grades K-5. We are proud to report that throughout this pandemic our educational programs continue to provide quality, year-round early childhood education focusing on enabling children to grow emotionally, physically, and socially in a safe, caring environment using age-appropriate methods for cognitive growth. We are able to provide a safe, caring and consistent environment for our students to learn, grow and flourish. Additionally, throughout the pandemic, our Family Program team has been able to provide case management, connect families with emergency assistance funds, and assist families with their financial, academic or personal needs. As our children, families, educators and staff continue to navigate and adapt to challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, we are proud to say the Jack & Jill Center remains steadfast in our mission to provide high-quality early education and family strengthening resources to our community in an effort help every child and family reach their full potential. As we look to the future, we continue to redefine how we deliver essential services to our community during their greatest time of need.