Educational Foundations CISE Preschools Prepare Urban Children for Success BY E IL EEN C O NNEL L Y , O S U
Every day, Jennifer Hagood’s 5-year-old son, Ricole, says a prayer. “He doesn’t pray for toys. He prays for the people he loves,” she explained. “He sends everybody’s name up to God.” Hagood attributes her son’s concern for others to the solid foundation in both his education and faith-based values he is receiving at Corryville Catholic, one of 10 inner-city schools supported by Catholic Inner-city Schools Education (CISE). CISE works to help rewrite the lives of urban children by providing access to a strong Catholic education at designated elementary schools and high schools. Currently in Kindergarten, Ricole’s experience at Corryville Catholic began in preschool, which CISE Executive Director Mabe Rodriguez describes as “the foundation to a great education. Preschool provides the building blocks for grade school, high school and the children’s future, along with improving Kindergarten performance. The sooner you can start building a child’s skills, the better. We’ve made it a priority for CISE to support preschool.” Finding a place for Ricole to begin his education was priority for Hagood, and since she was already on staff at Corryville Catholic as a Title 1 reading teacher, it was a logical choice. 4 8 | T H E C ATHOLIC TE LEG R A PH
“I love the environment there. It’s feels so safe, and the teachers are kind, but firm,” she said. “Everyone has been so welcoming and made us feel like family. It’s so important for a child to feel welcomed. And any environment where there is prayer every day is definitely good.” She has seen how her son has grown, both academically and personally, from preschool to Kindergarten, and plans to send her daughter, Julia, to preschool at Corryville Catholic, too. “Ricole is very conscientious about his work and how the teachers will respond,” Hagood said. “He has really matured and is more confident in himself.” Stephanie Lockett is equally pleased with her daughter, Marie’s, experience at Holy Family School in Price Hill. Marie is in her second year of preschool at Holy Family and will attend Kindergarten there in the fall. Lockett explored a variety of options for her daughter’s education, and she ultimately decided on Holy Family, because “I want my baby to be in the best environment possible and for her to be great at whatever she decides to do in life. My niece and nephew go to Holy Family and I know how much they’re leaning. After we visited, I knew there was no place else I wanted her to be.”
