Housed in a new school building, the early childhood education of Lawrence Catholic Academy (LCA) has recently increased capacity by 50 percent and bolstered its structure and curriculum. LCA faculty and board of trustees attest to the guidance and support of Peter Lynch and the Lynch Foundation for this expansion, which has improved critical early language, math, conversational, and social skills of students and their experience of faith. The program also has helped promote important connections between faculty, students, and parents. As Father Paul B. O'Brien, president of LCA, explains, "Our school is very much a family, knowing and supporting one another closely. The fact that our family now begins for children at age three is a huge blessing."



Providing a foundation for student learning and for connecting families and diverse communities

According to LCA trustee Mary Grassa O'Neill, senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, ECE programs are key to high-quality education. In short, they provide a foundation for success, narrow opportunity gaps, and help support working families -- and they are especially vital in gateway and inner-city areas, where a high percentage of English learners and resource gaps exist. They also help elementary schools move all students forward academically and promote family engagement.

Especially in gateway cities, expansion of ECE programs is "a crucial topic," according to Professor O'Neill, as "resources can be limited and children often face barriers to educational opportunity right from the start." High-quality programs "set the groundwork for cognitive, social-emotional, and language development," and "help children build skills -- like cooperation, self-regulation, and curiosity -- that are essential for success in later grades."

Contrary to conventional wisdom, elementary schools with diverse populations such as that of LCA have distinct advantages that can be leveraged to help young students excel. "A Catholic school that welcomes families of many backgrounds," according to Father Joseph O'Keefe, SJ, former dean of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, "not only strengthens academic learning, but also grounds students in values of compassion, justice, and hope. In the earliest years, children form the habits of heart and mind that will carry them through life." By all measures, the burgeoning early childhood program of LCA is strengthening its students ages three and older in these vital values and habits.



Mitigating disparities due to language and otherwise

High-quality ECE programs narrow opportunity gaps. "In cities like Lawrence," Professor O'Neill explains, "many families may contend with economic hardship, housing instability, or limited access to formal education, and early childhood programs are powerful equalizers. They can mitigate disparities that begin before kindergarten, giving every child a fairer shot." Moreover, gateway cities provide "critical scaffolding for English language development at a period when children's brains are most receptive to new languages," she adds.

The fundamental advantages of ECE are abundant. Monica Lucey, LCA principal, notes the marked difference ECE can make, for example, in students' learning readiness. "Students in our ECE program are exposed to literacy and math from the beginning. It isn't day care; it's school!", she notes. Students "learn through play and through interactive activities, but they are learning and having fun. They know their letters and numbers, and when they head to kindergarten, they have a grasp of the English language and of math skills. This makes a huge difference in their foundational skills."

Comparing ECE-educated and other students, LCA kindergarten and grades one and two teachers report that they see positive differences in the learning readiness of students who have experienced ECE. One parent, Yajaira Blanco, suggests that if only a young relative of hers who had immigrated from the Dominican Republic had had ECE, she would have enjoyed the advantages that her own children experienced thanks to the LCA program.

Praising the excellent materials and age-appropriate curriculum that the Lynch Foundation has helped provide, LCA teacher Sonia Parent says that ECE lays the foundation for a love of learning. She feels "incredibly grateful to be part of a program that helps students build confidence, curiosity, and the skills they will carry with them as they continue their educational journey." The Lynch Foundation materials and curriculum "allow us to reach every child, even those who come to us with language barriers."



Providing dual language support

Research shows that dual language learners significantly benefit from exposure to both their home language and English. ECE programs that honor the young students' home languages while introducing English can produce stronger academic and social outcomes.

Professor O'Neill explains, "Younger children are especially adept at picking up new sounds, vocabulary, and grammar, so starting early with English, while affirming their Spanish language and culture, gives them a cognitive and social advantage." Hector Heredia, LCA dean of students, agrees and points out, "If students are not speaking English at home, school is the only place they are going to learn proper English, which they need to be able to communicate with the world. Learning English at the earliest possible age is critically important, because the older you get, the more difficult it is to learn any language."

Emotional and social well-being are at stake. Carola Suarez-Orozco, professor in residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and director of its immigration initiative, explains that when students are supported in their home language as they learn English, "It's not just about acquiring a new language; it's about fostering their confidence and belonging." Research indicates that "early exposure to English, within a nurturing environment, helps students become more successful academically and socially," Professor Suarez-Orozco adds.

The experience of LCA parent Jesenia Nova's children bears out these findings. Ms. Nova admires that the ECE program emphasizes natural interactions for overall child development, as opposed to computer or video-based learning, thereby helping promote language development, including conversational skills -- and faith development.



Introducing faith in the classroom

Parents and students alike praise ECE formation of faith at LCA. Parents such as Ms. Nova appreciate that the schools' youngest students start and end the school day with prayer and their lessons and homework include learning about the Catholic faith in an age-appropriate way. For example, ECE students learn to recite the Lord's Prayer and sing simple yet profound songs; they engage in coloring crafts that illustrate the story of the Nativity and Easter; and they participate in Advent and Lenten activities.

Reflecting on her own ECE experience, LCA student Kyron Villa remembers her teacher reading aloud from a children's Bible to her and her classmates. "I liked that those stories had a mix of adult words and kid words that I understood," she says; "It taught us about God in a fun way." Valerie Githinji, another LCA student, recalls "learning songs about God" in ECE. She notes, "I remember God being a part of what we did every day."

Although parents may enroll their children in the ECE program at LCA specifically to promote their academic and social development, they have found that the program has helped their children grow in their faith, as well. Parent Yajaira Blanco, mother of three LCA students, explains that through the program their children grew socially and intellectually and also developed a "strong sense of God and Jesus." This has been important to the development of their spiritual life, she says.

For example, Ms. Blanco's four-year-old child recently told her that she was having bad dreams and said that if she prayed, Jesus would help her sleep better. Interestingly, Ms. Blanco notes that this child's and her siblings' early understanding of the presence of Jesus in their daily lives has helped the Blancos deepen their faith as a family.



Promoting educational support at home, parent-teacher relations, and behavioral standards

To Professor O'Neill, ECE programs, particularly those that encourage family participation at LCA, "can help parents connect and gain confidence in supporting their children's learning at home, regardless of their own English proficiency." On another front, Ms. Sonia Parent has observed in ECE families "such a positive change in how [they] connect with us, with relationships growing stronger and more meaningful."

In the end, the ECE program "offers students and their parents resources to develop very early the qualities of being faithful and moral people," says Dean of Students Hector Heredia. "When our students go home with the behavioral standards they're learning in school, they share those standards with their siblings and parents, who very often want to get on board with these standards."

Father O'Brien explains, "At LCA, we're forming young people who offer real hope for a possibly faithful and hard-working future United States. It's happening within our very large school family."



MARLENE O'BRIEN IS A TRUSTEE OF LAWRENCE CATHOLIC ACADEMY. CONTACT INFORMATION: CELL: 781-591-9951; LANDLINE: 781-416-1803; 158 GLEN ROAD, WELLESLEY, MA 02481