Community Impact –
Learn to Earn Dayton

Learn to Earn Dayton’s vision is for all learners and their families in our region to thrive, regardless of race, gender or zip code.

Here to help.

Barbra Stonerock
Vice President of Community Engagement
(937) 225-9951

Adopted by The Dayton Foundation as a leadership initiative in 2012, Learn to Earn Dayton’s cradle-to-career focus is putting Greater Dayton’s children on the path to be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten and ready to earn when they graduate from college or other post-secondary institution. To support this noble effort, the Foundation has awarded discretionary grants totaling more than $1.2 million to Learn to Earn Dayton, which also is a Dayton Foundation supporting organization.

Ultimately, the goal of Learn to Earn is to have 60 percent of the workforce with a two- or four-year college degree or high-quality credential by 2025. Through county-wide partnerships, national funding and recognition, and community support, great strides have been made in its mission, which is of great importance to our community and its children. Presently, obtaining a post-secondary education is increasingly important to succeed in today’s economy, with 56 percent of Ohio’s in-demand jobs requiring a certificate or degree. Achieving Learn to Earn’s goal would mean 58,000 more adults in Montgomery County with a post-secondary degree or credential.

Also embedded in its work is equity, with a focus on identifying and eliminating practices that perpetuate inequities, particularly for Black and Latinx students and students experiencing poverty.

Learn to Earn Dayton was founded by Dr. Tom Lasley, II, former dean of the University of Dayton School of Education and Allied Professions. It also is a Proofpoint member of StriveTogether, a national network of communities committed to ensuring that every child has every opportunity to succeed in school and in life.