La Escuelita Weekday School at Holy Comforter, in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a new preschool that is the merger of two co-existing preschools. The new program opening in the fall of 2016 will be a bilingual school, with children being immersed in the languages and cultures of both English and Spanish. The original preschool, Holy Comforter Weekday School, began in 1955 as a ministry of Holy Com
forter Episcopal Church. The play-based program offers children hands-on experiences, opportunities for discovery through problem solving, sensory experiences and imitative play. Providing age-appropriate materials and loving guidance encourages creativity and a love for learning. The second program on the same campus, La Escuelita Bilingual Preschool at Holy Comforter, was founded just six years ago to prepare low-income Latino children for success in Kindergarten and beyond. Helping the children to become successful and happy students by immersing them in American cultural experiences, while nurturing respect for their own cultural heritage is a goal of the program. The staff of the school also offers support and education to the parents and families, working to get the families in touch with the resources needed to recognize, plan for and accomplish long-term goals. The mission of the new school includes a desire to instill an abiding sense of respect for all children, their cultures and their individual development. By providing this nurturing, age-appropriate environment, the school and its staff will help lay the foundations for academic and social success that the children will continue to build upon throughout their lives.