Detroit-based Brilliant Cities to bring early childhood education and tutoring to Philly in 2025

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Brilliant Cities, a Detroit-based nonprofit, relies on its “neighborhood hubs” to provide free meals, health services and tutoring to families with children from pre-K to 8th grade in underserved neighborhoods. The group plans to start offering help to people in Philadelphia in 2025.

Cindy Eggleton, Brilliant Cities’ chief executive and co-founder, told WHYY News the nonprofit is considering Belmont, East Oak Lane and Huntington Park as possible sites. She explained that the group has about a $1 million budget for Philadelphia, but that amount could grow. Eventually, the group could even expand into as many as 30 cities, including Chicago, Cleveland and St. Louis.

The group’s business model calls for it to purchase a building with at least 1,500 square feet of space, usually a former home, in a particular community. They turn the property into a daycare center, offering a range of free programming to children and parents. Programs include English as a second language classes through partnerships with other nonprofits. It will be staffed with as many as five people, including a tutor, trained professionals and neighborhood residents.

“Brilliant Cities is born out of efforts that we did in Detroit. Basically, what we are is a neighborhood-powered effort that built what we call ‘kid-success’ neighborhoods,” Eggleton said. “Neighborhoods where kids and families have everything that they need that leads to aid in education, health and family support. There is a need for more than what can necessarily happen in schools, but actually be integrated with schools.”

Eggleton said the group plans to work with the School District of Philadelphia and the city’s Office of Children and Families.

In Detroit, Brilliant Cities operates with a $10 million budget and runs neighborhood hubs in 24 communities, often rehabbing buildings that were previously abandoned.

According to its 2024 annual report, it has provided services to about 24,000 individuals, aided by 3,500 volunteers and 160 non-profit service providers focused on issues including food insecurity and health and wellness.

About 92% of the children in the program maintained or improved their reading skills during the summer breaks, with many improving their reading by as many as three grade levels, the report said.

Local support for the program is growing. Sharon Neilson, a program manager in the early childhood education department at the Reinvestment Fund in Philadelphia, says she was familiar with the program but traveled to Detroit to learn more.

“That helped to solidify for me that this would be a really good fit and the communities that they will be supporting are those families that are not necessarily in a formal child care setting,” Neilson said. “They have programs that are geared for the adults and the children.”

“The families that go there actually take ownership of that home and they understand that no one family owns it. I think it helps build a sense of community and support that is definitely needed in Philadelphia to help to return to strong community participation and engagement, so youth can get to know each other again,” Neilson said. “I thought it was a good fit for Philadelphia.”

About 28.8% of children in Philadelphia are living in poverty, according to Pew Charitable Trust’s April 2024 State of the City report.

In a Brilliant Cities YouTube video, Detroit parents Brandon and Selena Sellers said their son Sirius initially had anxiety around other children and struggled to speak full words. After attending the program, he began to improve.

“We get to see him make mistakes or success in real time,” Brandon Sellers said.

Vance C. Lewis, associate partner at Promise Venture Studio, a California nonprofit focused on early childhood development, and a former special education teacher in Philadelphia, said the model will tap into existing local programs.

Brilliant Cities will tap into the many organizations in Philadelphia already involved in early childhood education, he said.

“Brilliant Cities’ model is based on partnering with these existing programs and doing the work of bringing them together and coordinating them for families all under one roof within a neighborhood,” Lewis said. “Rather than just stop there, Brilliant Cities’ model then relies on local hiring and a local advisory team to ensure programming and service delivery reflects community needs and aspirations. Ultimately, Brilliant Cities’ model helps children reach key developmental milestones across from prenatal through third grade.”