|
Celebrating Roxbury Weston Programs
By Kara M. Fleming
Weston/Wayland Town Crier
November 16, 2006
A shocking trend is occurring across our country. Schools are more racially segregated and the achievement gap for children of color is getting wider.
However in 1965, a remarkable thing happened, which is relevant today and may prove hopeful. A handful of Weston residents, so moved by people in this country taking an active stance against racism, decided to get involved in a concrete and meaningful way.
Partnering with the Blue Hills Christian Center in Roxbury, they started a summer day camp that supported desegregation. With full collaboration from families in both communities a preschool was established the following year. By fostering a mutual racial and cultural understanding in a desegregated environment, the founders were able to provide an equal opportunity in education for children.
This bold, unprecedented move was the beginning of the Roxbury Weston Programs, which was incorporated as a non-profit educational corporation. This is a proud moment in the history of these two communities as the Roxbury Weston Programs, Inc. is the first and oldest voluntarily desegregated educational institution in the nation.
Today, the leaders of the Programs are proud of their accomplishments. “The Roxbury Weston Programs are in the forefront of the best educational practices,” says Winnie Hagan, Executive Director of the Roxbury Weston Programs. “Research findings attest to the powerful effects of quality pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and primary grade experiences.”
“Coordination [of these three levels] is the watchword of this effort,” continues Hagan. “Curriculum, assessment, instruction and standards should all be aligned throughout the PK-3 experience of all children.”
The basis of this effort is that PK-3, pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade, makes up a very specific developmental period. Treating pre-kindergarten as a grade level and aligning it with K-3 will give a child a strong learning foundation that will carry them throughout their full schooling career. This leads to greater school success and will ultimately benefit society by stemming the high school drop-out rate and increasing college entrance and graduation numbers.
The Roxbury Weston Programs, Inc. consist of the preschool located in Weston and the kindergarten through 3rd grade after-school enrichment program, CATCH (Children Achieving Through Community Hope), located in Roxbury.
The curricula of these two programs support each other. The staff of the Roxbury Weston Programs places equal emphasis on the physical, emotional, social and intellectual growth of children. In developmentally appropriate methods, they support a child’s academic success by helping the child develop learning skills and by nurturing their overall growth.
Both the preschool and CATCH are nationally accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a distinction that only ten percent of early childhood programs hold and both receive many commendations for excellence.
With desegregation being the very foundation for these programs, the resulting diversity creates multiple learning opportunities in which children gain invaluable awareness and knowledge of the world by interacting with others from outside their immediate neighborhood; a relevant experience in our ever-growing world.
In 1965 the goal was desegregation; but today the goal is to celebrate diversity in a deeply inclusive community of race and culture. The Roxbury Weston Programs’ educational curriculum delves deeper into the understanding of diversity by promoting multi-cultural and multi-racial awareness and supporting the idea that, inasmuch as we are all different, we are all equal.
The mission of the Roxbury Weston Programs is “bringing families together in a learning community dedicated to the celebration of diversity and to the excellence in early care and education.” It has remained true over their 42 years and relevant in today’s world.
However, none of these achievements would ever be possible without the care and support from families and friends around Roxbury, Weston and surrounding neighborhoods and towns. Their recognition of the significance of equity and excellence in early childhood education has helped this remarkable, groundbreaking institution grow.
Please visit www.roxwes.org or call 781-891-6710 for more information on the Roxbury Weston Programs or to learn more about the PK-3 research.
|
|
ROXBURY WESTON PROGRAMS C.A.T.C.H. POD ACCREDITED BY NAEYC
Roxbury, April 27, 2006
Roxbury Weston Programs’ Children Achieving Through Community Hope (C.A.T.C.H.) Program has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children – the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals, and has received ten commendations for excellence.
“We’re proud to be accredited by NAEYC, and recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards,” said Winifred Hagan, Executive Director of Roxbury Weston Programs, Inc. “NAEYC Accreditation lets families in the community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early learning experiences. We are particularly proud to bring our high quality educational programs to the community.”
C.A.T.C.H., which was founded in 2003 by Mattapan resident and Roxbury Weston Programs alumna, Monique Marshall-Veale, provides after school enrichment opportunities for children in kindergarten through grade three in space donated to the program through the generosity of the Church of Christ in Roxbury.
More than 11,000 early childhood programs – serving over one million young children – are currently accredited by NAEYC. “In recent years, we’ve seen a growing number of child care and preschool programs earning NAEYC Accreditation,” said Mark Ginsberg, Ph.D., executive director of NAEYC. “By earning accreditation, C.A.T.C.H. has become a leader in a national effort to raise the quality of early childhood education, and to help give all children a better start.”
Responding to the growth of the system, in 1999 the NAEYC Governing Board appointed a national Commission on Accreditation Reinvention to conduct a comprehensive review of NAEYC’s Accreditation system. Building on their work, NAEYC is making many changes to increase the reliability and accountability of the accreditation system and promote higher program quality. In April 2005, the NAEYC Governing Board approved new Early Childhood Standards and Accreditation Criteria.
NAEYC created its accreditation program in 1985 to set professional standards for early childhood education and to help families identify high-quality child care and early education programs. To earn NAEYC’s accreditation, a program conducts a self-study to determine how well it meets the standards. After necessary improvements are made, the program is observed by independent, professional validators, and then reviewed by a national panel. Programs are accredited by NAEYC for a five-year period.
|
