The Acorn School

JULY/AUGUST 2009

As I complete my fifth year as the Executive Director at Acorn, I am amazed at the level of commitment that I see from the entire Acorn community around ensuring that our children have the best opportunity to succeed! From the part-time assistant teachers, to the president of the board of directors, we all have the common mission of providing high quality, accessible early care and education programs, and constantly advocating for higher standards in the field of early childhood education.

At The Acorn School, we have a 5-year Strategic Plan that guides our direction and continues to help us focus on our mission. We have made great strides in achieving the Strategic Plan, but much more work is still ahead of us. We will remain focused on:

• Accessibility - Providing an environment that is accessible and welcoming to anyone, where balance and diversity are maintained.
• Advocacy - Raise awareness of need for high-quality Early Childhood Education in Boulder County to influence public opinion and policy.
• Capacity - Replicate one other center with capacity of 60-65 kids that meets our environmental guidelines and philosophy.
• Parent Partnerships - Parents understand what high-quality Early Childhood Education is, and take responsibility for becoming involved and invested in making it happen at Acorn.
• Environmental Sustainability - Practice and teach good environmental programs and responsibilities.
• Health - Every family has access to prevention from and treatments for physical, mental, and emotional health and development.
• Finances - Have adequate funding to fulfill all the other goals.
• Staff Development - Attract, retain and continuously improve {the capabilities of} committed, high-quality professionals.

Finally, I recently attended the National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development in Charlotte, North Carolina along with two Acorn teachers and a board member. The theme was “Play, Where Learning begins”. As I listened to presenters and panel discussions, I came to this conclusion, “Those that play together, stay together.” This was focused mainly on our children and the importance of learning through play, which we practice through our Creative Curriculum. However, I believe that the same holds true for the Acorn staff, parents, board, and community. If we expect our children to learn to “play” together, we have to model this as well. We can do this by getting involved in the Parents In Partnership parent education program, giving financially to the work of The Acorn School, supporting fundraising and social events, simple play-dates, and family get-togethers. I believe that at The Acorn School, we have teachers and a community that are committed to “playing together” and in-turn are creating a rich environment for children to thrive and learn as they develop relationships that will last a lifetime.

Sincerely,
Matt Eldred  -Executive Director