Fisher Leads the Way in Early Childhood Education
Since opening its doors in October 2000, the Morgridge College of Education's Fisher Early Learning Center has offered exceptional early childhood educational programming for Denver children of all abilities and diverse backgrounds. Recently, however, Fisher expanded its impact in the community exponentially by partnering with other area early learning centers.
"This initiative is about how we can help other schools learn what we know and how we can learn from them. It's a two-way street," says Marcee Martin, EdD, executive director of Fisher Early Learning Center. "The beauty of this partnership is that it doesn't really cost any moneywe were doing all of this anyway. It only costs us time."
What Fisher was doingand continues to do so wellis to prepare children ages 6 weeks to 6 years old to enter school equipped with basic skills and knowledge. With 10 early learning centers now partnered with Fisher, participating schools are able to share strategies in addressing the unique needs of children from low-income and diverse households, as well as children with special needs.
"The sooner children are ready to be socialized and educated, the better," says Martin, who cited research that reveals the ages of 0 to 5 as being the most formative years of a child's life. "We've found that some children aren't ready for kindergarten. Children from low-income families, and minority racial and ethnic backgrounds are more likely to enter school behind their peers in basic skills that correlate with future school success."
These basic skills include holding a fork, standing in line, knowing what a book is and communicating appropriately (i.e., without hitting). Fisher's "Read/Play/Learn" curriculum, developed by Morgridge College of Education Professor Toni Linder, fosters cognitive, language and communication skill development by incorporating art, music, movement, dramatic play, science and math into everyday activities.
The roster of participants in the initiative headed by Fisher include the Rise School, a small, private school in Denver that serves children with Down Syndrome; the Village School, a Littleton public school with broad multicultural representation among students and staff; Morning Star Montessori, a private school serving primarily low-income students; Asbury School, a Denver public elementary school with mostly Spanish-speaking students and an ECE Autistic program; and Montclair Academy, located in a middle-class Denver neighborhood.
"Diversity is a common thread throughout the initiative," Martin says. "It's also allowing us to take our commitment to being a community resource to the next level."