Wichita Program Seeks to Level Playing Field for Disadvantaged Students
Published Aug 17, 2009
Barry Downing still remembers the sting of poverty he felt as a child entering first grade.
Today‚ the wealthy entrepreneur helps youngsters overcome similar disadvantages through The Opportunity Project‚ or TOP – a program Downing founded to provide an educational boost to infants and preschoolers from poor families.
“We try to equal the playing field by helping prepare them for kindergarten‚” says Downing‚ chairman of the board for Wichita-based Corporate Lodging Consultants.
TOP has partnered with the city of Wichita and the Wichita School District to form TOP Learning Centers.
The first opened in south Wichita‚ where Downing grew up. It serves 180 children from birth to 5 years. A second center‚ which opened in August 2006‚ serves 150 more of the community’s underprivileged youngsters in a $3 million‚ 23‚000-square-foot modern facility.
“We are hoping to eventually have five centers in Wichita to educate children whose families are in the bottom 5 percent economically‚” Downing says. “That’s 1‚000 children who are at high risk for teen pregnancy‚ incarceration and gang activities.”
Along with early childhood education‚ TOP centers provide nutritious meals for children‚ screenings for health and learning problems‚ and parenting education through a family improvement plan.
“Wichita is a great place to live‚ with clean water and clean air‚” he says. “It’s just a great place to raise a family.”
Story by Renee Elder
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