CentroNía parents testified to DC City Council in support of the PreK program

Jamia Eaton

Good afternoon. My name is Jamia Eaton. I am a mother of a 4 year old named Sanai and she began the PreK Incentive Program at CentroNia in September 2007. Before Centronia, Sanai, was transitioning from an excellent Headstart that was the model for a literacy program to be introduced in the Headstart program, but due to our ineligibility to meet the program financial standards, she was dismissed in August. Almost two weeks after her dismissal, I was thrilled to hear that she had been accepted to the CentroNia PreK Incentive Program.

My husband is currently a dedicated high school teacher for Bell Multicultural HS and my mother-in-law was a teacher of 34 years at Oyster Bilingual. With an emphasis on education in our family, it was important that we find a school that continue to meet Sanai’s needs. My husband researched charter schools in the district and CentroNia was in high consideration. We put her on the list at the age of 2 ½. In the interim, we were able to qualify for the Headstart Program. She did quite well at this program and soon was accepted to the 4-year old literacy program at the age of 3. She completed a little over a year, excelling socially and academically. Unfortunately in August 2007, with a change of policy, we were no longer eligible for this program. At that time, I committed to homeschooling her with the intention of preparing her for Kindergarten.

Then I received a call from CentroNia. My husband and I came and toured the facility, first – without Sanai – and came to the joyous conclusion to enroll her. It took a bit for her to get used to the new environment, but nevertheless, my daughter enjoys learning so much and really enjoys her impact on the learning of other children.
If this proposed legislation is approved, more families like would have access to high quality programming such as CentroNia. Unfortunately, here in the US low income families seldom get that privilege. Often we hear about “No Child Left Behind” but without the proper government support to really support the education programs for our youth, what does our future entail? Children from these families have so much to offer if given the proper foundation. Settling for sub par daycare facilities would not be a thought if we really believed that “No child should be left behind”.

I would like to share with you an experience that really reinforced our decision. We are Christians and use the Bible as our guideline of how to do everything in our home – including raising our daughter. With most children her age, sharing is a major issue at school or otherwise. Since Sanai is an only child, “practice sharing” is difficult as an only child. For a few weeks, we had been talking to her about the parable of the “Good Samaritan” and how helping others is just something you do for the sake of doing it, and not because you expect anything in return. Well, my husband and I still weren’t so sure it really hit home yet since we were having such issues with her sharing and moodiness. So finally – after maybe about a month or so – Sanai, excitedly, comes home and says, “Mommy I was a good Samaritan today with my friends”. So I asked her “that’s wonderful, pooh, how do you mean?”. She said, we were painting and I helped my friends, and I also helped build blocks, and I covered up my friends at naptime, etc.” She gave a list of all the great things she did to help her friends and her teachers! I was elated! My ‘sweet pea’ finally understood.

I remember when Mr. Ricky told me, “Mom, Sanai hugged me today” which had been about a month and a half after entering the program. At times. It takes Sanai awhile to warm up to you, but once she saw how great Ms. Aracelis and Mr. Ricky were, she soon let them see just how lovable she can be. The little ones – especially – require so much more sensitivity and encouragement – and the staff at CentroNia is really great at helping to provide a great foundation for learning. We are very active with our daughter, so it’s always wonderful to see how she connects her worlds together.

It is my hope that the Council support this proposed piece of legislation. We have benefited greatly from it and would love to see other families have the same opportunity. So please do all you can to expand the PreK Incentive Program.