A Neighborhood Approach to Boost Learning in Detroit — and Beyond

Brilliant Detroit’s goal is to connect with young children and their families in the neighborhoods where they live. Visit one of the organization’s neighborhood hubs, and you’re likely to see tutoring help for kids, exercise and nutrition classes, play-and-learn sessions for children 5 and younger, doctors offering preventative health care, home-cooked meals, and more.

“I felt like what we needed to do was not just provide one program or one service but to be all in and help families take control of their lives and also see a path forward for the future,” says Cindy Eggleton, one of the organization’s co-founders.

The early-childhood educational nonprofit, which works with babies and children up to 8 years old, along with their parents, has been invited into 24 neighborhoods in the city. Almost all the neighborhood hubs are previously vacant houses that have been renovated — the goal is to create accessible, homey places where children and families want to spend time. The organization hires local residents, and it works with more than 200 other nonprofits across the city to provide services.

“When we first started, I think we had a hard time explaining what this was. People would say, ‘Do people live in the house? What are you doing?’” Eggleton says. “Now I think it’s a model whose time has come because people are understanding that place matters. Local context matters, and connection matters.”

The model’s working. School-age children in the program have increased their reading scores an average of three levels. Brilliant Detroit’s summer reading program in 2023 served more children than the school district’s program, and 92 percent of the kids experienced no summer learning loss, the dreaded summer slide.

Now the organization, which has changed its name to Brilliant Cities, is expanding. It’s taking its program to Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Pontiac, Mich. Another 31 cities are on a waiting list.

“I think there’s been a recent shift,” Eggleton says of the interest. “This idea of making things really, really local is an important factor in terms of getting to people and creating real change.”