Hear how a Latino neighborhood in Denver came together to rid its neighborhood of a crack house, and transform it into an early childhood education center. Now, eleven years later, Family Star has not only continued its legacy of providing the highest quality early childhood education to inner-city children, but has become a community focal point for innovation in education, child advocacy, parent involvement, and neighborhood development.
Family Star has been recognized by:
- Robert Woodson National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, naming Family Star as one of 23 models of “self-help initiatives that have raised the quality of life in low income communities.”
- Mayor Wellington Webb, who appointed Family Star’s Executive Director to the Denver Head Start Commission as the Early Childhood Education expert.
- Hillary Rodham Clinton, who invited Family Star to participate in the White House Convening on Hispanic Children and Youth.
Hear Lereen Castellano, Executive Director, talk about the neighborhood collaboration to found Family Star, and the opportunities and challenges they face today. Her story will address:
- How the community became mobilized to close the crack house.
- Why an infant/parent education center emerged as the preferred use for the building.
- How the core group emerged, other challenges they faced, and where they are today.
- How this action changed the community.
- How Family Star fulfills its mission: transformation through education; education that empowers by developing the potential of people of all ages and cultures to think for themselves, to do for themselves, and to create better lives.
- How it continues to work with the community and other organizations to respond to community needs.
- The challenges it faces for the future and how it will address those challenges.
Join us Friday, February 9, 2001 at 1pm Eastern Standard Time for a live online interview.
