Every Child Thrives logo
Launched in 2017, Every Child Thrives is a collaborative network of 60+ active and engaged community partners, whose vision is to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive in health, learning and life.
The Foundation serves as convener and facilitator for Every Child Thrives.
Real change happens when a core group of community leaders come together using a collective approach to create a clear, common agenda with measurable results.

The ECT collaborative network



Our Scorecard is how we embed Results-Based Accountability in all we do - using data as a tool to align our partners around a strategy, and as a slow-moving “north star” to measure our progress. You’ll find links to the Scorecard throughout these summaries of our work.



Partners come from all sectors of our community, including business, government, education, families, healthcare, nonprofits and more.

  • City of Watertown
  • Community Action Coalition for South Central WI
  • Community Care Preschool & Child Care
  • Community Coordinated Child Care (4-C)
  • Dodge County Community Development
  • Dodge County Human Services & Health Department
  • Dodgeland School District
  • Easterseals
  • Fort HealthCare
  • Future All Stars Academy
  • Gingerbread Preschool and Child Care Center
  • Good Shepherd Lutheran School
  • House of Peace
  • Hustisford Community Library
  • Hustisford School District
  • Ixonia Elementary School
  • Jefferson County Circuit Court
  • Jefferson County Head Start
  • Jefferson County Health Department
  • Jefferson County Human Services Department
  • Jefferson County Literacy Council
  • Johnson Creek Public Library
  • Johnson Creek School District
  • Juneau Public Library
  • Karl Junginger Memorial Library (Waterloo)
  • Lake Mills Area School District
  • Madison College
  • Madison College Early Learning Campus
  • Moraine Park Technical College
  • Maranatha
  • Moreland OB-GYN Associates
  • Raising Wisconsin
  • Reeseville Public Library
  • Renewal Unlimited, Inc. (Dodge County Head Start)
  • Rock River Community Clinic
  • Safe Families for Children
  • School District of Jefferson
  • Shared Mission Group
  • St. Marks Evangelical Lutheran Church & School
  • The Gathering Source
  • The Open Door Coffeehouse
  • Trinity St. Luke's Lutheran School
  • United Way of Dodge County
  • United Way of Jefferson & North Walworth Counties
  • UW Madison Division of Extension Dodge County
  • Waterloo School District
  • Watertown Area YMCA
  • Watertown Chamber of Commerce
  • Watertown Department of Public Health
  • Watertown Family Connections
  • Watertown Family Practice
  • Watertown Police Department
  • Watertown Public Library
  • Watertown Regional Medical Center
  • Watertown Unified School District
  • Waupun Economic Development
  • WECA
  • Willows Christian Child Care Center
  • WI Alliance for Infant Mental Health
  • WI Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Board
  • WI Office of Children's Mental Health
  • WI Reading Corps



Transformation Council members drive the work of the Every Child Thrives collaborative, ensuring partnership priorities are aligned with agency priorities.

  • Rebecca Bell, Dodge County Health & Human Services Director
  • Jarred Burke, Watertown Unified School District Superintendent
  • Elizabeth Chilsen, Jefferson County Public Health Director
  • Tina Crave, Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation President & CEO
  • Jessica Johnson, Dodgeland School District Administrator
  • Jon Lange, Glacial Community YMCA Chief Executive Officer
  • Olivia Nichols, Rock River Community Clinic, Executive Director
  • Holly Pagel, Jefferson County Human Services, Behavioral Health Division Manager
  • Deb Reinbold, ThriveED President
  • Brent Ruehlow, Jefferson County Human Services Deputy Director
  • Carol Quest, Watertown Department of Public Health Director
  • Mary Ann Weiland, Jefferson County Head Start Director

Get Involved



We welcome change leaders from all sectors of Dodge and Jefferson Counties.

Join the Every Child Thrives Network

The Every Child Thrives network uses data to drive decisions and aligns the resources of individual partners around three main priority areas.

Strong Families

strong families icon

Weave a web of support for young children and families

Why is this important?

Children are more likely to thrive when their families have the support they need.

Provide great early learning opportunities

Why is this important?

The most critical time to nurture a healthy, productive, successful future are the years between birth and age five.

Kindergarten Readiness

kindergarten readiness icon

School Success

school success icon

Provide systems of student and family supports

Why is this important?

Children who are successful in school are more likely to become productive, healthy adults.

Every Child thrives

Theory of change

Every Child Thrives activates a network of partners to address root cause barriers to wellbeing so every child thrives in health, learning and life. Leveraging best practices in community collaboration, the network aligns the resources of many agencies to support three priority areas. Network partners focus community resources on a manageable number of shared action plans to achieve measurable improvements in child and family wellbeing.

Collective Impact

inspiration, announcements, and impact updates... monthly.