Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is a subset of 22 toddlers concurrently enrolled in the Home-Based Preschool Program. These 22 toddlers also receive an extra 20 hours per week of enrichment activities in a center-based setting. In partnership with Neighborhood House, Guadalupe rents space to house this unique early intervention and enrichment program.

Children, ranging in age from 1-3 years old, attend ECEC Monday through Thursday. This enrichment program is language intensive supporting the children’s native language. The educator/student ratio is 1:3. Providing an individualized curriculum is the key to the success of the program. The coordinator, who also teaches in the classroom, has a degree in Psychology and a Child Development Associates (CDA). The five educators have a strong background in child education and are working towards getting a CDA. Three of the educators are bilingual and all activities are done in Spanish and English.

Parent involvement is an integral part of the program. Families begin the year with a home visit with the ECEC Educators. Parents volunteer in the ECEC at least once a month and participate in ten family gatherings. Parents complete an open-ended assessment on their child at the beginning and end of the school year.

The educators create a child-centered environment where children learn through play, and language is learned through constant conversation, stories, finger plays, and exploration of their environment.

The success of ECEC is shown through a variety of ways. Children who have been in ECEC, consistently have stronger receptive/concept language skills going into to the three year old preschool than the class average on the Bracken assessment. In the 2008-2009 school year, 96% of ECEC children scored in the normal range of development on the Ages & Stages assessment.

One ECEC parent said: