We’re committed to democratizing early learning in Chicago and beyond.

Where we work: VOCEL partners with schools and organizations in under resourced communities throughout Chicago.

Our mission is to help ensure every child has the foundation to learn, grow, and lead.

Our story began in 2012, when co-founders and educators Jesse Ilhardt and Kelly Powers challenged themselves to reimagine early childhood education by harnessing the power of human connection, conversation, and language.

In 2014, we launched our first program, the VOCEL Early Learning Center, a preschool that prioritized talk and play with groundbreaking results. It was during these first years that we honed our early learning philosophy and saw unequivocal evidence that demonstrated its impact: after 10 months in our classrooms, 94 percent of children met or exceeded developmental milestones, and graduated pre-kindergarten with vocabularies at a first grade level.

Armed with a desire to expand our reach, we launched the VOCEL Child Parent Academy (VCPA) in 2016. This two-generation early learning accelerator is informed by our early learning philosophy and focuses on preparing young children aged 0-4 for preschool, academic growth and future life endeavors. Simultaneously, we began coaching parents on how to capitalize on the earliest years when brain development is most rapid.

In 2018, the shifts in Chicago’s early learning landscape led VOCEL to close the Early Learning Center and focus strategically on the expansion of the VCPA. It has proven to be a game-changer for families, bridging a critical access gap for families in under-resourced communities impacted by disinvestment and limited early learning options.

In 2019, we began a focus on refining our program design and measurement strategy. As a member of Harvard University’s Frontiers of Innovation portfolio, we joined with other early learning peers across the country to share best practices and outcomes, and build an evaluation approach as unique as our programs. In 2020, we began a two-year partnership with The Bridgespan Group to develop an organizational theory of change and a talent development framework to support our expanding and growing team.

With a commitment to strategic innovation and outcomes-focused programming, we continue to build our repertoire of services. Our latest initiatives include school-based coaching for principals and educators and community-led early learning and parent support classes. We believe that all parents, caregivers and educators can be extraordinary teachers of young children, if they have access to brain science, coaching, and communities of peer support. VOCEL is creating new models to do just that, and in turn, making the most of the earliest and most important years of a child’s life.