El Busesito Preschool
Delivering high-quality, bilingual preschool to the neighborhoods that need it most
Our fleet of three “Little Buses” travels to neighborhoods to provide bilingual preschool education to 96 children who would otherwise have no access to preschool. Equipped with a strong foundation of social-emotional learning, 40-55 students arrive at kindergarten each year ready to learn alongside their peers. Parents are engaged as partners in their child’s education through monthly volunteering, home visits, and four Family Nights each year.
Mobile buses remove the barrier of transportation, and provides flexibility to adjust to changing community needs.
Why a bus?
When Valley Settlement community organizers first interviewed families in 2011 and 2012, they found that fewer than 1% of preschool-age children in low-wage Latinx families in the valley were enrolled in preschool. Transportation was cited as a common barrier.
The ‘busesitos’ travel to low-income neighborhoods to deliver high-quality preschool classes. Each class has 8 children and 2 bilingual, bicultural lead teachers. Busesito Preschools and teachers are licensed by the State of Colorado. By bringing school to neighborhoods, the buses eliminate the transportation barrier, providing free preschool to those who need it most.
Engaging Parents as Partners
El Busesito Preschool engages parents as partners in their children’s education. Parents are expected to volunteer, attend four family nights each year, and participate in one home visit a semester, based on the Parents As Teachers curriculum. Learn more about the importance of 2Gen Programming.
Demonstrated Impact
Children’s progress is measured using Teaching Strategies GOLD. Each year, Busesito students show growth in the three developmental domains: language, cognition, and social-emotional development. Parents benefit from the program, too, frequently reporting that they are more involved in their children’s education and feel an increased sense of parenting competence. See El Busesito Preschool outcomes below.
FocusedKids
We utilize FocusedKids methods to teach parents, students, and teachers mindfulness and self-regulation skills. Students learn about parts of the brain and how to express emotions in ways that are constructive and healthy.
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1901 Grand Avenue, Suite 206
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
970.963.0851
info@valleysettlement.org
KEY PARTNERS
Mountain Family Health Centers
Providing health care for medically underserved families
Colorado Mountain College
Partnering to advance education among adults
Frontiers of Innovation
Building scalable programs
CU Boulder - CREST Lab
Investigating a peer-delivered behavioral health program