February 2016 Partner Spotlight- Early Excellence Program of Denver
The Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) celebrates the achievements of its partnerships that create and preserve nonprofit facilities and affordable housing for communities in metro Denver. ULC’s Monthly Partner Spotlight is awarded to partners who demonstrate the value of collaboration, furthering our mission to improve the lives of Denver area residents through our real estate investments and community assets.
Congratulations to our February 2016 Partner Spotlight of the Month: The Early Excellence Program of Denver!
One of ULC’s first partners in the Cole neighborhood, and housed in one of ULC’s first investments at the Tramway Nonprofit Center, Early Excellence Program of Denver provides full-day, year-round preschool services to children ages 2.5 – 5 years old that live in the Denver-Cole Community and surrounding counties. Both English and Spanish are spoken at the school, and the program upholds the mindset that every child is a special and unique individual who deserves the highest quality of education, nurturing, love and support possible. It is their passion, duty and responsibility to make sure children are given every opportunity socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively to succeed in school and life. By providing students with daily educational skills and tools to learn and grow, they provide children with the chance to achieve dreams. The Colorado Shines Early Learning Developmental Guidelines helps Early Excellence establish high quality, measurable and obtainable standards for the school and they have successfully put them into to “live-action” for students and families.
Colorado Shines launched last February, replacing the previous Qualistar rating system, and is now mandatory for the state’s licensed child care providers. Early Excellence recently celebrated earning the highest rating possible on Colorado Shines – they are only one of two centers in Colorado who received the esteemed rating of Level 5.
“Early Excellence has been a critical partner in the success of Tramway Nonprofit Center, and the valued educational programming they provide to children in this neighborhood is what makes a neighborhood thrive,” stated Aaron Miripol, President and CEO of ULC. “Their warranted level 5 rating once again demonstrates how powerful education is to community and the commercial real estate market needs to do a better job of preserving affordable space for nonprofits, including schools.”
Early Excellence strongly believes that every child deserves the safest, most loving, nurturing educational learning environment every day they walk through the front door. Their students truly become family. It is not only easy to admire the quality of their programming, but also their philosophy of educating, loving and caring for every child.
Early Excellence employs 12 full-time teachers who are professionally credentialed through the State of Colorado, the majority of whom hold a higher education degree in Education or related field and/or are working toward a degree at an accredited college/university. All administration holds Master’s Degrees in Education and 95% of all staff has worked five or more years in education.
The strategic location of the school is also a key component in maximizing their impact in improving the lives of children. Being part of a nonprofit center in a neighborhood where there are many needs provides Early Excellence the chance to greatly improve the lives of children and their families.
Jennifer Luke, Executive Director of the Early Excellence Program of Denver shares, “the Tramway Nonprofit Center has played an important role in building the success of Early Excellence by providing a strong, stable and supportive place for our preschool to reside where we are nestled in a caring nonprofit community.”
It is not about being the largest, wealthiest or most well-known child care center, Early Excellence has proven this through their hard-won distinction through better quality programs for both children and their parents. Congratulations Early Excellence on your well-deserved Level 5 rating and for being an anchor institution at the Tramway Nonprofit Center and in the Cole neighborhood of Denver.
Visit www.eepdenver.org for more information!