Be Part of Your Child’s Experience
Families play a critical role in preparing their children for success, and our goal is to actively engage with parents for the benefit of the child and the family. We build strong partnerships with you from your first visit and enrollment, through your child’s early learning experiences and facilitate a smooth transition to school.
Each family receives a comprehensive orientation about our program and services from our enrollment staff and a personal introduction to the center director and classroom teacher. The center director or teacher continues the orientation process and, with you, set goals for each child. Two home visits and two parent/teacher conferences take place annually enabling teachers to learn more about each individual child, share information regarding each child’s progress and to set new goals with you for your child.
Families are always welcome in the classroom, and our staff work with family members as partners in your child’s learning experience. Family nights and classroom celebrations held regularly at all centers bring parents into the classroom, allowing you to see first-hand what your child is learning. Families are invited to attend Parent Action Committee meetings held quarterly at each center to provide feedback and to help plan family events.
Through our Books at Home program, we give each child 10 new books throughout the year. Books at Home helps families build a home library and extends learning beyond the classroom.
We Support our Families
From the first enrollment meeting, our staff is working to support you however we can. In individual meetings, our Enrollment Specialists will help you navigate the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) enrollment process and will help with redetermination.
We know times can get tough and we are here to help your child and your family be successful. Our on-site Center Directors are available at each Center to meet with families needing assistance. They can refer families to appropriate community agencies for help in many areas including: housing, food, transportation, employment, clothing, medical and dental care, language translation, legal services, vehicle repair and more. A resource lending library is also available for families with materials and information on a variety of topics such as divorce, stress management, parenting and deployment.
Our Behavioral Health Team is available to consult with parents regarding their child’s social/emotional development and behavioral health. The Behavioral Health Team also holds monthly opportunities for you to chat about concerns or challenges you may be experiencing with your child. As they say, it takes a village! We walk you through the exact same steps we utilize in the classroom to ensure continuity between school and home.
To support families as their child enters school, often a challenging and confusing transition, we hold orientations for first-time kindergarten families. We provide you with information on what to expect when your child starts kindergarten, help you identify your child’s abilities and strengths, and help you develop the language and confidence to communicate with teachers and advocate effectively for your child. With your permission, we also deliver assessment data for each child to the child’s new teacher. This helps the teacher be aware of the child’s abilities and be prepared to meet your child’s needs.
We also partner with Parenting Matters of El Paso County who works with families, schools, and the community to organize and coordinate parenting education and resources to help families raise healthy children. For more information click here.