Escambia Children’s Trust
On Tuesday, the Escambia Children’s Trust approved $3.64 million in state taxpayer dollars for Bright Beginnings grants, funding 11 early childhood programs in a major effort to reverse the county’s declining kindergarten readiness rates.
- The board approved the three-year funding package in a contentious 4–1 vote. Board Chair Dr. Rex Northup cast the dissenting vote.
Reviews, Scoring Challenged: Members chose to fund all 11 applicants rather than follow the review committee’s scoring recommendations. Only nine of the programs met the committee’s recommended funding thresholds.
- “The two that did not score out are going to have a lot of work ahead of them, and we are going to have to go back and look at their applications again and readdress, scaling a program from a $200,000 or $300,000 request down to a $50,000 request, so there’s definitely a lot of work to do before we contract for those other ones,” said Children’s Trust Executive Director Lindsey Cannon.
What the money covers. The grants will support programs serving children from prenatal development through age 6. Funding is scheduled to begin Dec. 1, 2026, and continue through November 2029.
Why it matters
Only 36% of local children were kindergarten-ready in 2025, down from 49.5% the previous year. Florida’s statewide rate also fell, from 51% to 44%.
A countywide network. Bright Beginnings is designed to reverse that decline by creating a countywide network of services that address children’s developmental, educational and family needs during their earliest years.
“Since Achieve Escambia started the KCAM, the Kindergarten Readiness Collective Action Network, it’s been a lot of the same people sitting around the table having these same conversations. This hasn’t gotten better.”
- Cannon said there have been some inroads, but KCAM cannot work at scale without a dedicated funding source “that is going to help drive that and create collaborative work.”
Funding
Nine programs received full funding, while two others received reduced awards after their applications scored below the committee’s recommended funding thresholds.
The fully funded initiatives include:
- Healthy Start Coalition: $374,223.87 for its G.R.O.W. doula model of maternal care.
- Adult and Child Mental Health Care: $1.5 million to establish the Bright Beginnings Developmental Pediatrics Clinic, including hiring a full-time developmental pediatrician.
- The Arc Gateway Pearl Nelson Center: $1.499 million for its Help Me Grow Developmental Intervention early childhood program.
- A Top Notch Christian Academy: $1.142 million for its Pathway to Kindergarten Readiness program, serving 80 children.
- Escambia County Department of Neighborhood and Human Services: $1.5 million for the Growing Together family learning program at community centers.
- Extra Mile Club Str8 Up: $1.048 million for the Soul Train Little Learners and Family Readiness Hub, serving rural families in Century and North Escambia County.
- Nemours Children’s Health: $713,329 to establish Pensacola’s first NICU Developmental Follow-Up Clinic.
- Ready Kids: $1.398 million to expand its Ready Kids! ReadingPals literacy and STEM initiative.
- Studer Community Institute: $1.36 million to expand its Building Brains program, including free parental access to an AI Parent Companion app.
The two partially funded programs are Whiz Kidz Academy, which received $150,000 toward its $600,000 request for kindergarten readiness tools, and Young Achievers Preschool, which received $225,000 toward its $660,000 request for its READY Together school readiness and family engagement program.
- “We have a threshold that we’ve established here that we are providing high-quality programming and that comes with a score of 80 and above,” Cannon said, “and the board chose to do something outside of that, and so now we got to regroup and meet with those folks and try to figure out the process moving forward.”
Fairness and Scoring
The vote followed an extended discussion about inconsistencies in the review committee’s evaluations and whether the Trust should prioritize numerical scores or ensure that providers serving vulnerable children remained part of the initiative.
- Whiz Kidz Academy: Owner Juanita Lindsey told board members her application averaged 65.29 points, but individual reviewer scores ranged from 41.5 to 81. She asked for “a fair chance,” rather than special treatment.
- Young Achievers Preschool: Owner Shacondra Primm described an even wider disparity. Her application averaged 75.14 points, but individual reviews included a score of 25 and three scores in the 90-point range.
Primm urged the administration to release reviewer scores to applicants at the beginning of the first review meeting to improve transparency.
“Our scoring system is fair. It was in a rubric that was approved by our board. Every single one of our reviewers submitted an application and a resume. They were all approved as experts and the folks that our board wanted as reviewers.” —Lindsey Cannon
- The majority’s reasoning. Board members Tina Cain, Keith Leonard, Lumon May and David Williams ultimately supported partial awards for both programs. Their decision reflected a belief that excluding providers serving highly vulnerable populations could undermine the initiative’s broader purpose.
Where the extra money comes from. The original amount set aside for Bright Beginnings was $3.5 million. Cannon said the additional money needed to cover the $3.64 million package would come from the Trust’s unobligated reserves and future funding allocations.
Countywide Approach to Early Development
Bright Beginnings is structured around seven developmental stages, beginning with conception and continuing through kindergarten entry at ages 5 to 6.
- The framework prioritizes children at risk of developmental delays or living with disabilities, as well as families facing financial, structural or language barriers to early learning.
Applicants were required to explain how they would serve multilingual families, first-time and teen parents, single-parent households, foster families, grandparents raising grandchildren, military families and families affected by incarceration. Additional consideration was given to families with multiple children who have significant support needs.
Bonus points for underserved areas. Applications proposing services in Century, Warrington/Navy Point, Beulah and Ensley/Ferry Pass received five bonus points during evaluation.
- The funding structure also limits awards to a maximum of $500,000 per program annually, with approved grants distributed in equal annual installments over the three years.
The Trust’s challenge now shifts from selecting providers to delivering measurable results. With kindergarten readiness declining locally and statewide, Bright Beginnings represents a substantial investment in connecting families with developmental, educational and parental support before children enter the classroom.
- Whether the initiative can help reverse those numbers will depend on how effectively the funded programs reach families and prepare Escambia County’s youngest residents for school.