About Us
Our Mission
To create a brighter future for at-risk children by building a foundation of support through education and quality programming.
Our Story
A Brighter Community (ABC) is the oldest nonprofit preschool in Hillsborough County and has served over 9,000 low-income children and families during its 100 years of operation. We were founded in 1922 to serve children in the low-income Tampa Heights neighborhood; this remains our focus today. Research shows that receiving a high-quality early childhood education dramatically improves the odds that an economically at-risk child will succeed in school, graduate, attend college, and succeed in his or her personal and professional life. ABC’s core programs are our high-quality preschool programming and child care, where we offer daily meals, developmental evaluation programming, and family support services.
ABC's preschool fees are calculated on a sliding scale based on total family income and the number of people who live in the household, with scholarships covering the rest of a student’s tuition. We never turn a child away due to a parent's inability to pay, and many of our students receive a scholarship of some kind. Most of our students come from single-parent homes with parent(s) making under $28,000/year who have obtained a high school diploma or less. Parent(s) must be working, going to school or in a job training program for their child to receive services at ABC.
Our preschool program is accredited by The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a rigorous voluntary national accreditation process for high-quality early childhood programs. ABC is also Gold Seal certified by the state of Florida, acknowledging that our programs meet the highest standards for childcare and supervision.