Fortress

We get by with a little help from our friends, especially on North Texas Giving Day. You are our most dependable, empathetic, biggest supporters, and we need you this year more than ever. 

Fortress lovingly serves children and families who live in 76104's Historic Southside neighborhood. The area is well-known as a food desert, but did you know it's classified as a childcare desert as well? The demand for high-quality early childhood education in 76104 is three times the current availability.  In Tarrant County, an average family can expect to spend 12% of their income on childcare, but for low-income families, that percentage creeps closer to 35% - and that's if they can find it. Fortress helps mitigate this crisis by providing full-day preschool - along with after school and summer programs - at no cost so that parents can afford to work to support their families.  In lieu of tuition, families participate in parenting classes, skills workshops, and community engagement opportunities, allowing Fortress to serve multiple generations in a single family. Childcare is expensive. Excellent childcare that supports intentional developmental, academic, and social-emotional growth is even more so. This has been a tough year financially, but we continue to prioritize our little learners. They deserve our best. Please help us not only get by, but THRIVE AND GROW, just like our Fortress kids do every day!

FORTRESS PRESCHOOL enrolls 64 children ages 6 weeks through 4 years. An emphasis on achieving developmental milestones is balanced with creative play, emergency literacy skills, and social-emotional learning. Some more of our numbers:

22 - Full-time staff employed at Fortress, including 15 teachers who hold 8 Child Development Associate credentials
47 - Number of preschool children on our waiting list
87 - Percent of Fortress families who live at or below the poverty line
93 - Percent of Fortress parents who are employed or are in school
780 - Preschool meals served out of the Fortress kitchen each week
2,688 - hours per week of excellent early childhood education provided in Fortress preschool classrooms

"I don't know what I would do without Fortress," says Ava, whose 2nd grader started as a 2-year old in Fortress Preschool, and whose 4-year old will graduate this year. "You guys have allowed me to work part-time and also go to school. I only have two more semesters until I graduate. When I started, I thought I wanted to do criminal justice, but seeing how you helped my son, I changed my major and now I'm graduating with a degree in speech pathology. I would never have been able to do all this without Fortress. "

"I'm able to work and actually earn a living for my family because my childcare is taken care of. Just knowing my kids are safe and happy, that's everything. I don't trust anyone else to take care of my kids."

Fortress prioritizes enrollment for parents who are working or are in school. We know that parents can't work without childcare, and we know that corporations lose $23billion annually due to childcare challenges in the workforce. Considering that there is a 15%-18% ROI on every child who engages in excellent early childhood education, we also know that investing in as many children as we can is an investment worth making!

FORTRESS PRESCHOOL is just one of our excellent programs. We are proud to be CNM Certified-Prime, a partnership with Center for Nonprofit Management that ensures fidelity in the planning, data collection, and outcomes measurement for each of our programs: 

FORTRESS AFTER SCHOOL welcomes Prek3-5th grade students who attend Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary. An emphasis on literacy is supported by creative and outdoor play and social-emotional learning. Fourth and fifth graders participate in a strengths-based program where mentors and their mentees spend an hour together each week engaged in career, skills and talent exploration, goal setting, and project completion. 

FORTRESS PARENTS L.E.A.D. (Learn, Engage, Achieve, Disciple) provides classes and activities designed to encourage, empower, and equip the parents of children enrolled in Fortress programs. In lieu of student tuition, minimum parent participation is required for continued enrollment, with a leadership track available for parents who want to pursue it. 

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT includes five free annual events, an on-site fresh pantry, and partnerships with Historic Southside Neighborhood Association and Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary School. Collaborations with neighboring churches, civic groups, volunteers and fellow service agencies are just some of the ways we work together to love our community well.