VALLEY, NE. — Douglas County West Elementary School in Valley is helping parents play an active role in their children's reading development through the Buffett Early Childhood Institute's "School as Hub" program.
Dawn Marten, director of learning for Douglas County West Community Schools, said The program focuses on engaging families from the earliest stages of a child's life.
"So that we see growth from those early stages of birth [in] identifying pictures on into the early years of letters and word recognition," Marten said.
When Silvia Mildreth Vazquez moved from downtown Omaha to Waterloo, she says the first thing she looked for was a school for her sons, Noah and Ian.
"They have been my biggest teachers," Vazquez said.
The boys are in Pre-K and first grade at Douglas County West Elementary and are learning to read through the "School as Hub" program.
Vazquez says when her boys first came to school, they were shy, but she says their time in the program and in school changed them.
"I was afraid to even leave the parking lot because I was like, 'They are going to call me that he is crying,' like last year," Vazquez said. "No. He was this different little guy."
She worried this could hold them back, but she says learning to read gave them confidence instead.
"It's impressive how he is reading a chapter (book) and we are like having a conversation," Vazquez said, "He is sharing the ideas (and) what he understood about the book."
Learning to read also gave Vazquez the chance to read along with them at a critical stage in development.
"We are trying to teach them that, as family, we do things together," Vazquez said.
Now Noah is learning to read, but Vazquez says she is facing a new hurdle — technology.
"The interest they put on that — let's say for a tablet — is on video games, not to read something," Vazquez said.
Amy Schmidtke, director of educational practice for the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, said the institute aims to engage families from the start.
"Families and the community in children's learning beginning at birth," Schmidtke said.
Vazquez says she made the right choice for her children.
"It honestly has been a big journey for me as a mother," Vazquez said. "(It's) the best thing that could have ever happened to us, honestly, and I am grateful. I feel blessed for that."
