Congratulations to the Class of 2024
Valley Settlement’s 2023-24 Graduation Ceremonies.
In late May and early June, we gathered with participants and their families to close the 2023-24 program year with graduation ceremonies for our two-generation programs. Adult learners and Parent Mentor volunteers cheered on their peers as they stepped forward to receive their diplomas and certificates. Families in our Learning with Love and Family, Friends, and Neighbors programs crossed the graduation stages, with parents, caregivers, and children proudly standing together. El Busesito Preschool students sang “The Wheels on the Bus” with their classmates and teachers one final time before heading to Kindergarten in the fall.
It is an honor to learn, connect, and grow alongside the children and families in our programs, and we wholeheartedly share the joy and pride in reaching the end of a program year. We extend heartfelt congratulations to the graduates and a deep thank you to all in our programs for letting us be part of your journey.
Parent Mentor’s Inaugural Family Night
Parent Mentor Family Night, Spring 2024.
In alignment with our strategic priority to strengthen our impact over the next four years, the Parent Mentor program implemented a training plan from COFI (Community Organizing and Family Issues), an organization focused on building the power and voice of parents to shape the public decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families. Using the COFI curriculum throughout the 2023-24 program year, Parent Mentor volunteers leaned into their leadership roles as mothers, fathers, and grandparents. They created goals for themselves, their families, and their communities. Mentors also identified common issues in their communities and created Parent Action Teams to advocate for creating equitable changes, striving to enhance school environments for children and families.
To honor their hard work and commitment to growth throughout this program year, we hosted the inaugural Parent Mentor Family Night. This event was a special opportunity for the Mentors to present and build momentum around their goals with their peers and loved ones. As Adult-Focused Program Manager Marlin Gonzalez says, “This is a big achievement for the Parent Mentor program and a great opportunity to bring the whole family together. That’s why [we hosted a family night]…we wanted their families to know how important their engagement [with students and teachers] is and share the amazing work they do in the schools.”
Family Support Team Health and Housing Nights
Family Support
Accessible, affordable housing is one of the greatest challenges for families in the Aspen to Parachute region. For years, Valley Settlement’s Family Support Team (FST) has responded to this growing need, working with families and community partners to offer culturally responsive support in seeking housing options and navigating application systems. In early 2023, the FST began hosting monthly Housing Nights. At these events, Family Navigators work with families and individuals to complete applications for local rentals, prepare the required paperwork, and submit the applications online. Recognizing the need to offer similar support in applying for Medicaid, the FST introduced weekly Medicaid Nights in the spring of 2024. At Medicaid Nights, Family Navigators and Promotoras from our team support community members in applying for Medicaid or renewing their Medicaid coverage, sharing information throughout the process so that families leave better informed on how to navigate these processes in the future.
Family, Friends, and Neighbors Program Shares Impact
Family, Friends, and Neighbors Preschool Class, Spring 2023.
The Aspen to Parachute region of Colorado is considered a childcare desert, with estimates that more than 25% of children ages 0-5 in the region are cared for in informal, “family, friend, and neighbor” homes (Confluence Early Childhood Education Coalition). Since 2017, our Family, Friends, and Neighbors (FFN) training and coaching program for informal, in-home childcare providers has brought innovative approaches to improving the local landscape of early childhood care. In 2021, we implemented a new weekly in-home preschool class model, where an FFN Preschool Teacher visits homes and teaches classes, involving providers so they can build their skills and confidence to continue promoting early literacy, math, and school readiness once the teacher’s work is done. Over the past two years, the Preschool Teacher has seen the impact of her classes and the caregivers’ and parents’ involvement in the child’s education at the end of each year. She says, “When the class ends [in the spring], the child comes out more confident, with the strength that they can do the work…By the time the year ends, they are a child who can interact better with the other children who are in care…My greatest satisfaction is to see what the children have learned…That’s what really sticks with me.”
We are pleased to share that Director of Programs and Innovation Kenia Pinela, who helped found and grow the FFN program in collaboration with FFN providers, and El Busesito Program Manager Karla Reyes will be presenting at the National Association for Family Child Care conference this July, where they will share insights and experiences from their years of working in partnership with community to co-create and evolve innovative early childhood programs.
Did You Know?
Every June, Valley Settlement staff members begin recruitment for the next program year by knocking on doors in neighborhoods from Basalt to Rifle. They meet families, share information about our diverse opportunities to engage in two-generation programming, and register interested families in programs for the coming year.
Valley Settlement’s mission is to listen to Latina families, and together create opportunities for early childhood and adult education, connection, and growth, so children and families can thrive.
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