That’s why we do what we do. TOP was founded to give children and families opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise.
Our mission is to deliver a high-quality early learning experience to children living in poverty, providing them the tools needed for emotional, academic, and lifelong success.
Our goal is to support working families by offering full-day/year-round learning opportunities to TOP kids. We provide a variety of fun educational activities and programs that will prepare our students for a successful school experience.
Wichita businessman and philanthropist Barry Downing and his family founded The Opportunity Project (TOP Early Learning Centers) believing every child, regardless of their station in life, deserves the opportunity to succeed. Research shows a high-quality early education like that provided at TOP, sets children up for school and lifelong success.
In 2003, The Opportunity Project established its first center — an 11-classroom, 40,000 square foot, $4 million project. By 2011, two more centers were created to serve families in Wichita’s low-income neighborhoods.
Early Education AdvocacyFunding Partners: Head Start, USD 260, USD 259, Kansas Department for Children and Families, Kansas Department of Education, and the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund.
TOP Early Learning Centers received a four-star rating from the Kansas Quality Rating System (KQRS) and are licensed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). TOP is also a recipient of the Wichita Business Journal Diversity and Inclusion Award and Best of Wichita Educational Daycare and Preschool.
“TOP has been an amazing experience for my son! I am impressed every day at the hands-on, engaging learning opportunities provided to him by the TOP teachers and staff!”
– Loghan C. | Parent, TOP South