Our international wall is a point of pride with us. As families come and go, the number of countries represented remains high. Some of our children are the first generation of their family in the U.S., others only the second, and the ties with their native countries remain strong. Other families are here for only a short time — on work visas, on temporary assignment or for education. We don’t know how so many find us, but we are grateful that they do!
We think that a quick tour of our center is often what convinces families to join us. You can’t help but notice the variety of children and their families — the many shades of skin and hair, the physical features, the languages, the accents, the customs of greetings. “If you value diversity”, we say, “you have come to the right place!”
We also are able to offer scholarships so that families who might not otherwise be able to pay for full-time, private childcare and preschool are able to join us. It is another form of diversity that we feel lends richness to the environment. Scholarship recipients are not identified to other families. All children are offered all programs.
Our leadership represents a variety of backgrounds as well. I grew up on a farm in the middle of Wisconsin, where many Danish immigrants came a couple of generations ago. Anila Aleksi, our Associate Director, emigrated from Albania when she was a young adult. Jeff (Bumsu) Kim is our Team Lead and came from Korea as a child. Terrence Harper, our Master Teacher, grew up in Tennessee.
We are all glad to be here, TOGETHER.