Early Childhood Education
CentroNía is committed to serving low-income, working families and their children by providing a continuum of high-quality early childhood education and care starting during a mother’s pregnancy until the child is five years old. Our full-day, dual-language program lays the foundation for school readiness and empowers parents to become strong advocates for their child’s education at an early stage.
Enroll NowOur Model
In guiding both center and home-based programs, CentroNía uses the Creative Curriculum with our Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers. The Creative Curriculum addresses children's development and learning in four areas- Emotional, Physical, Cognitive, and Language. Children's growth is documented through the GOLD developmental assessment tool. In each area, staff members observe and record progress made along a developmental continuum for each individual child. Pictures, written observations, and samples of the child's work help both to document the child's developmental stage and to assist the teacher in customizing appropriate activities. This data is used to adjust the curriculum to children's needs and ensure they develop the skills necessary to be ready for school.
CentroNía offers a bilingual (English-Spanish) environment to all students where children are exposed to native Spanish and English speakers. The choice to be bilingual stems from the many benefits on the development of young children. Learning two languages has been shown to positively impact cognitive and linguistic skills. CentroNía's community is a mosaic of many cultures and backgrounds - some students even speak three languages - and in this environment we strive to foster a lifelong sense of acceptance and appreciation for diversity.
CentroNía believes parents are a child's first and most important teacher; therefore, we are committed to supporting them in this role. Sustainable family engagement impacts student learning and achievement. We build strong relationships with families to support their well-being and create positive parent/child relationships so both can learn and grow together. The program reflects cultural competence and universal design approaches - encompassing the beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and activities of all families.
CentroNía is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Centers pursuing NAEYC accreditation must meet 80% or more of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards set forth by the accrediting body. In addition, our program in Takoma Park, MD is also accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) EXCELS, receiving the highest recognition of five stars.
CentroNía is accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) early learning program. NAEYC Accreditation is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system that uses a set of 10 research-based standards to collaborate with early education programs to recognize and drive quality-improvement in high-quality early learning environments
This involves an extensive self-study and quality-improvement process, followed by an on-site visit by NAEYC Assessors to verify and ensure that the program met each of the ten program standards, and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. NAEYC-accredited programs are always prepared for unannounced quality-assurance visits during their accreditation term, which lasts for five years.
Infants & Toddlers
Early Head Start Home-Visiting Program
Pre-Kindergarten
Theatrical Journey Project: Introducing Science to Early Learners through Guided Pretend Play
Theatrical Journey Playbook
The bilingual Theatrical Journey Playbook, published in 2017, is a toolkit for early childhood educators and parents interested in replicating the project with their own early learners. Designed as a Pre-K curriculum enhancement for formal and informal educators, the Theatrical Journey Playbook includes theoretical foundations, methodology, materials, techniques, rubrics, references, and 23 Journey scripts.
You can purchase your own Theatrical Journey Playbook today! Each playbook is $35.00 plus shipping and handling. If you plan to order more than 10 playbooks, please reach out to us to learn about discounted pricing options.
Aspiring Journey Guides can purchase the Theatrical Journey Playbook here.
Interested in enrollment?
Make an appointment with our Admissions Office to learn more about whether CentroNía is right for you and your family.