MISSION: To provide free, high quality, multi-lingual, preschool education and family services to children in their own neighborhoods in order to prepare and empower them for success in school and life.

OUR STORY: The Child and Family Network Centers (CFNC) was established in 1984 by mothers living in public housing after 17 of their children were failed by the system and did not move on to the first grade. Our founders were so successful, children in CFNC's first class were subsequently recognized as gifted by their public school. 

CFNC has since expanded its scope and maintained its success record, fulfilling our mission to provide caring, high-quality, free, multi-lingual, early education and related services to children and their families in their own neighborhoods to prepare  them for success in school and in life. We now serve 139 children across 8 classrooms in the City of Alexandria's under-resourced neighborhoods. Our teachers and family service workers make our success possible. 

CFNC's mission-driven activities work to advance our Racial Equity Vision, closing racial equity gaps so that our families can thrive. We recognize that access to high-quality, caring, early childhood education is a privilege, but should be a right for all families. Our mission for our racial equity vision is to resist the pattern of systemic oppression by working with all community stakeholders to provide equitable, inclusive and holistic support for our families at CFNC. We pledge to serve as an ally in our community and to work diligently to maintain an environment that recognizes, understands, respects, appreciates and encourages the unique racial, cultural, socio-economic and religious differences of each member of the CFNC family.

Early intervention is important for school success. Our students are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 which impacted them financially, medically, and the pandemic isolation resulted in delays in education and social emotional skills. Our students have the main risk factors for kindergarten failure: they live in under-resourced neighborhoods, many live in households that have less than a high school education, and many live in households where English is not the first language. Without a free, high quality, early education, these kids are at-risk of entering kindergarten up to two years behind their peers. An opportunity gap that big by the time they are five is nearly impossible to close.

CFNC dramatically changes the trajectory of children's lives by providing accredited preschool and the support services their families need to succeed. Our core expertise: (1) we are the only nonprofit in Alexandria that provides free,  multilingual preschool education, family case management, and health services to close racial equity gaps (in English and Spanish, Dari,  Arabic, and Amharic); (2) we reach low-income, immigrant working families with limited English proficiency who are left behind by other programs; and (3) we provide award-winning, accessible wraparound services in their neighborhoods. We have received national recognition for our high-quality and unique program model, which sets a standard for multilingual early education and wrap-around services for diverse, low-income families.

CFNC has a 38-year success record for over 4,000 families. We lay the foundation for children to become successful, self-sufficient adults who give back to their communities. CFNC achieves incredible results each year because of the ongoing, generous support of our community.