Tomorrow’s Hope Parent Guide

Ounce of Prevention, an early learning non-profit, opened the first Educare centre in Chicago in 2000. Educare provides high quality, safe, accessible early childhood education for low-income families. Tomorrow’s Hope follows three members of Educare’s first preschool class as they graduate high school and reflect on their early learning experiences.

Tomorrow’s Hope is a continuation of Abramorama’s early learning series, which includes No Small Matterand Starting at Zero, both of which I have reviewed previously. As important as the subject matter is, I think that Tomorrow’s Hope is the weakest of the three productions. The documentary feels unfocused overall and fails to make the connections between early learning and future success in a clear manner. The main theme of the film is supposed to be about the importance of early childhood education, but it digresses into discussions around gun violence, Chicago’s projects, poverty, and gangs. All those topics are important, and can be connected to early learning, but this production fails to make those connections, which results in a muddled message.

That said, the stories of the three Educare graduates, Jamal, Crystal, and Jalen, are all inspirational and important. These are three young people who have risen above their circumstances and are in positions to change the world, and they deserve to be in the spotlight. I think that their stories would have been more powerful if they had been tied into statistics and research that reinforced the impact their preschool experience has had on them. As it stands, this documentary is purely anecdotal, and fails to make a connection to larger systems of educational inequality.

It’s not that I don’t recommend this documentary, it’s just that I know this studio can do better because they have done better. If you’re a professional in the field, an advocate, or someone in public office I’d recommend viewing this production in conjunction with Abramorama’s other works. But if you’re someone who wants to learn about issues around the importance of early childhood education, Tomorrow’s Hope probably won’t teach you much.