Civil rights attorney pursues new mission of improving childhood education

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A program director is hard at work making sure every child in Cincinnati has equal affordable access to high-quality preschool education.

Chara Fisher Jackson stepped away from her career as a civil rights litigator in 2016 to join the Cincinnati Preschool Promise as executive director.

She says advocating for early childhood education has been more rewarding than she imagined.

Jackson says in the past nine years, they’ve seen significant progress.

“When we started the program, less than 10% of our community was enrolled in high-quality early education environment,” explains Jackson. “Now, we are proud to say this year 41% of the eligible population is enrolled in a high-quality preschool compared to what’s happening nationally at 10% and 17%. We’re so proud of what we’ve been able to do.”

[Watch more from FOX19 NOW]

To help get children and teachers engaged, the program helps supply books and other classroom supplies, education training to give teachers extra support in the classroom, and enrichment activities, including music education, social-emotional learning and interactive reading programs to support children’s development.

“We make sure that everything that we do is aligned with developmentally appropriate practice because most of a child’s brain development happens in those first five years,” says Jackson. “It is a critical time, and if we can get it right during these first five years, provide children with that opportunity and support, it sets them up for a lifetime of success. What we also found is that so many families really only go to preschool within a mile or two miles of their home. If a preschool wasn’t available in their community, it was almost impossible for them to find a high-quality seat.”

The Cincinnati Preschool Promise is working to change that by adding more education outlets not only in public schools but also by providing state training for educators in faith-based centers and family childcare providers.

The program also provides tuition assistance for families needing help.

Currently, the nonprofit is funded by local school levies and occasional grants.

Jackson says she understands how important early education is, benefiting from a hands-on mother who was taught medical students as a college professor.

After spending 20 years as a civil rights litigator and lobbyist advocate, she decided she wanted to work with a nonprofit the help uplift the younger generation.

“If anyone has any questions about preschool or the importance of education, I invite them to spend 15 minutes in a classroom to see a child’s eyes light up when they learn to read,” says Jackson. “Just to see them succeed, nothing special that they are on track, and they are doing well without any challenges. It’s probably the best thing.”

Jackson says that no matter what your role or position is, everyone can make a contribution to early education.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2025 WXIX. All rights reserved.