The Reality: Culture and language are important

I was 16 when I began to speak more English at home and began to lose my comfort with speaking Spanish. When I was 17 my tongue felt heavy when speaking to my abuelita, grandmother.

It took me years to regain my comfort speaking Spanish and when I had my children, I committed to raise bilingual children who were proud of their culture. I didn’t want them to have the experience I had.

The Opportunity: Language, culture, and community in in a cooperative

In 2005 my friend and I started a cooperative daycare. We, along with a few families, pitched in to care for our kids, committed to adequately and fairly pay a phenomenal daycare provider, and rotate responsibilities. A year later when we were looking at preschools, we could not find a model that suited our values and needs. We wanted a learning environment that honored the whole child and provided an all-Spanish speaking learning environment.

In 2006, we began to research cooperative models and develop the foundation for the Las Semillitas Preschool. Together we interviewed other cooperative preschools, identified our common values, wrote a school mission, vision, and identified the essential elements of the education model. What we established was more than a school, it was a strong community. One that navigated unknown and difficult situations together. In August 2007, we opened our doors.

The Approach: Finding a common purpose gave us group strength

It was not easy. When it came to our children’s education, we were passionate, but because we had established a strong foundation of values and common purpose, we were able to move through the difficulties. My youngest daughter graduated in 2011 and Las Semillitas continues to grow and thrive. My son and daughter still speak Spanish and are two of the handful of great, grandchildren who can speak Spanish to their great-grandmother. The Las Semillitas community continues to be a rock of support for me and the family. They are my chosen family. I’m grateful for the ties that bind me to the Semillitas community and for the connection my children have to their culture and Spanish.