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CentroNía
parents testified to members of the Council of the District of
Columbia’s Human Services committee on April 26, 2007 urging
it to restore cuts to early childhood education programming currently
pending in the District's FY 2008 budget.
Xiomara Martinez
My name is Xiomara
Martinez. My daughter Leslie is three years old and she has been
attending the Pre-K Incentive Program at CentroNía since
September 2006. I am a 17-year old teenage mother.
Last year, I decided I needed to get my GED and get my life back
on track. But when I applied to my current school, YouthBuild,
I didn’t have any daycare for my daughter. My mom was going
to charge me to take care of my daughter during the day, but I
didn’t want to work so that I could fully concentrate on
school, so I didn’t have any money to pay my mom for daycare.
But a few days after I turned in my application for YouthBuild,
I got a phone call that there was space for Leslie at CentroNía.
I was so excited. The ironic thing was that both of us ended up
starting school on the same day – so CentroNía saved
me. Because if it weren’t for that, to tell you the truth,
I wouldn’t have been able to make it to every day of the
mandatory orientation for my new school. So without CentroNía,
I wouldn’t be here right now. Without CentroNía,
I wouldn’t be able to go to school and get my life back
on track. CentroNía saved my life.
CentroNía hasn't only helped me, but it’s
also helped my daughter. Because CentroNía is a bilingual
school, my three year old daughter is now speaking with confidence
in both Spanish and English. She's also learned colors and shapes,
and her speech and communication skills have improved a lot. When
she was two, she already knew her whole ABCs in English and Spanish!
She also trusts adults much more now because of her positive role
models at CentroNía. I like that my daughter and I are able
to learn and go to school at the same time, and that she doesn’t
have to sit around and do nothing while I’m at school. I can
now be a role model for my daughter.
It’s also important that the CentroNía Pre-K Incentive program is free for me, since I am low-income and would have no way to pay for it. And it’s not just the children they are helping with this program, it’s also the parents. As a teenage mom, I need extra support, and I don’t get that from my family, so CentroNía has been my support system. But mainly it’s for the kids, because they deserve it.
If my daughter had not been admitted to CentroNía’s Pre-K program, I would not have been able to study to obtain my GED. CentroNía has made it possible for me to get my life back on track, provide financially for my daughter and be a good role model for her. Without CentroNía, I honestly don’t know what would have happened to me and my daughter. Now everywhere I go I tell people about their wonderful programs and how they saved my life.
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