The Early Learning Center brings results

The Early Center has come a long way. It was started 30 years ago in one classroom at North Shoreview Elementary School, the brainchild of Patricia Horkan, the district’s early childhood education specialist. The first teacher, who is still involved, was Freddie Blanc. Freddie was the ideal preschool teacher. She exuded love and made each child feel like a queen or king. In fact one of the children’s favorites was the rotating throne where each would have a chance to be king or queen for the week. The assignment came with perks: you wore a crown, were first out at recess and your parents came to school to share their favorite dish. The children loved school, they adored Freddie and they picked up learning skills easily. Then as now it was required for students to reside in the lowest income census tracts in the city. In many of these homes, the primary language was not English. However, by the time the children reached kindergarten they did not require bilingual assistance. And compared to their peers, they were well-prepared to be students. The North Shoreview classroom had a one-way mirror so parents could observe their children at work and play. I once attended a weekend session with the parents who were volunteering their time to build or repair furniture and play equipment.

Funding came from Title I funds but when federal allocations changed, the program was threatened. After Proposition 13, the school district was having problems in financing kindergarten- eighth grade classes. Staff didn’t feel a preschool program was a high priority. The issue was debated at many long evening school board meetings. Somehow the Early Learning Center survived, usually on a 3-2 vote. Then funding problems worsened and the district could no longer support the program. A call went out to the community to help. And one man who wanted to remain anonymous decided to dedicate a good portion of his charitable giving to not only sustain the Early Learning Center but to expand it. His efforts were supplemented by a group of volunteers, the Friends of the Early Learning Center, who raised money and contributed countless hours of volunteer hours to help staff and enrich the program. Today, the Early Learning Center is established in five classrooms: two at College Park, one each at Fiesta Gardens, George Hall and Horrall. Last year, funding was set aside so the preschool teachers could work directly with the receiving kindergarten teachers. Today, the program receives about half of its funding from the state; the rest is from the private sector. The graduates do extremely well. Many have gone on to four-year colleges. And during the ceremony last week I envisioned that in 12 and 16 years, the parents would be posting the photos of their 4-year-olds in caps and gowns next to pictures of them graduating from high school and college.

This year’s graduation was dedicated to a longtime San Mateo resident who recently passed away, Emmy Lavenstein. Her husband Dick is the one who rescued the program. He is now trying to expand it to other school districts in the county. The Early Learning Center works. Its graduates will be contributing members of the community. It is the kind of preschool that most parents, regardless of income, want for their children. One of these days, we will have good preschool for all California students.

***

A hot tip: For a snapshot of all things electric, modern and vintage, visit the brand new International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers headquarters, 1701 Leslie St., San Mateo. The small museum is open daily Monday through Friday and is well worth a visit. If you are lucky you may catch the elaborate model train system in operation.

***

Good news: I don’t know if it is because of last week’s column, but "The Inconvenient Truth” is now playing locally at Cinearts in Burlingame. Thanks for all of your e-mails and phone calls.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be contacted at sue@smdailyjournal.com.<