Cultural Awareness, Community, and Diverse Classrooms: What Parents Love About IBA's Preschool
As the first bilingual preschool in Massachusetts, our preschool program has been serving our community for over 40 years. A parent favorite, our program preserves students’ culture while also preparing them for school.
Our bilingual program makes a big difference for parents, with our multicultural curriculum and diverse classrooms making up 38% of why parents send their kids to our preschool. Some parents, like Tanya Brussa-Pagan, want their children to retain their family’s culture.
“We speak Spanish but I’m a second generation American, so we kind of end up losing [the language]. Her being in a bilingual daycare helps her exercise her language.” Brussa-Pagan and 28% of parents had a main goal of improving their child’s Spanish, and by the end of their time in the preschool, 95% of parents said they saw their goal achieved.
Another major outcome of our program is confidence; 24% of parents said “better socialization” was a goal for their child. Along with Brussa-Pagan, other parents also believe IBA has helped their child’s social skills.
“The staff helps children have a smooth transition into the school. I've noticed my child's social skills improvement as well as his speech.” Multiple parents echoed the sentiment that their children were happy to go to school every day, with some crediting the close relationships between teachers and students.
“The staff, curriculum and security measures are great. My child is always happy and learning new things every day.” With small classrooms focused on student success, we aim to make every student ready for school by the time they graduate from our program. 80% of the children improved their language and reading skills, based on the parents feedback, and we’re proud to send our students to kindergarten with a strong foundation.
We focus on five pillars: fine and gross motor development, socio-emotional skills, bilingual literacy skills, cognitive development, and cultural development. With a curriculum built on these five pillars, we teach our students valuable lessons that carry on past their time with us, such as:
Cultural Awareness – Students who are exposed to a variety of cultures, religions, and ethnic backgrounds are taught awareness, how to integrate their cultures, and feel comfortable with their peers despite recognizing their differences.
Tolerance and Acceptance – Being surrounded by students who are different from themselves everyday teaches students to recognize, understand, and accept their peers.
Knowledge of Language and Culture – When students share insights about their own languages and cultures with one another, it provides lessons that go well beyond the classroom – making them excited about new languages and cultures unfamiliar to them.
Positive Problem Solving – Students learn to work together in a positive manner when faced with conflicts because they are used to being surrounded by diverse individuals and ways of thinking.
Diverse Knowledge & Skills – Students learn how to work together by seeing how their individual knowledge fits into the team as well as how their teammates’ knowledge can benefit the exercise.
Our five pillars are just part of the reason 60% of parents surveyed called IBA’s Preschool program very essential, with 100% of parents saying they would recommend our Preschool to other families. We’re proud of the work our preschool has done, and we’re looking forward to the years to come!
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