The Full Story
ACCESS TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCTATION
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Scholarships for 3-and-4year old children to attend one of seven partnering preschools.
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Serving the Angwin, Calistoga, and St. Helena communities.
SHPFA provides scholarships for underserved children in the St. Helena community to attend a preschool at one of the seven local participating preschools. Initially our program provided scholarships to four-year-old children, but for the past five years our program has continued to provide scholarships to three and four-year olds, thereby enabling students to experience two-years of preschool before entering Kindergarten. For many children, preschool is their first experience in a structured setting with teachers and groups of children. These childhood experiences are critical in preparing the children to enter Kindergarten but most importantly they are vital in helping foster their physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development.
SHPFA directly impacts low-income families who cannot afford a preschool program for their child, many of which are English Language Learners. Since the program began in 2010 we have provided 248 scholarships, and will be providing scholarships for 24 children and families who are enrolled for the 2023-2024 preschool year.
Since 2021 the program has expanded it's reach by providing scholarships for the first time in the communities of Angwin and Calistoga. We are currently partnering with Discoveryland Preschool in Angwin and Hearts and Hands Preschool in Calistoga.
What We Do
PARENT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
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Providing parent education classes in English and Spanish.
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Empowering parents with new strategies and tools to actively engage in their child's learning journey.
St. Helena Preschool For All also provides parent education programs. The parents benefit from their participation in the program as we strongly believe that the family needs additional tools to support their children at home. Our program works with the parents of participating families to involve them in the process and educate them in enriching their children's educational experience. Parents can either attend monthly meetings with educational speakers in collaboration with the St. Helena Unified School District or can participate in the Positive Parenting Program(TRIPLE P), presented by the UpValley Family Center in Spanish. The Triple P program focuses on giving parents simple and practical strategies to help them build strong and healthy relationships that will help them confidently manage their children's behavior.
In addition, as members of a preschool community parents develop a better relationship and understanding of their wider community, participate in new activities with their preschool-aged children, and meet other families preparing for Kindergarten. The preschools also provide parents with valuable information and strategies for supporting their children's learning and development at home.
LEARNING
OPPORTUNITIES
