Helping Children Thrive Since 1995
Educational Consultants Consortium, Inc. (ECC) was organized on September 18, 1995, by four retired Manatee County educators and two businessmen living in the "weed and seed" target areas of the county.
"Weed and Seed," a community-based strategy sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), was initiated in 1991 as an innovative and comprehensive multi-agency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization. This initiative was designed to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in designated high-crime neighborhoods across the country.
With full knowledge of the community challenges, ECC organized and developed goals to address the soaring drop-out, drug, crime, and teenage pregnancy rates in the at-risk area of (Palmetto) Manatee County by involving the whole family and community in the process. The retired educators, who brought more than 130 years of educating Manatee County’s children to the organization, noted that students making the most progress in and out of the classroom were those with commitment from families and support from their community.
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
Frederick Douglass
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide support to children and families to ensure that every student will achieve grade-level reading by grade 3, graduate from high school on time and be prepared to pursue higher education or certification, start a business, or otherwise begin a gainful career.
Our vision for our children is that they will graduate high school on time, pursue a career and marry prior to parenting a child.
We address educational inequities and other disparities facing youth and families in Palmetto (Memphis) and throughout Manatee County, maximizing opportunities for academic and personal success by providing youth with structured afterschool and summer programming, including tutoring, health classes, college and career exploration, and life skills education.
