Seeds of Learning
Early Care and Education
Center

provides early childhood education for the children of Archuleta County. Seeds is much more than a babysitting facility. It is a school that is committed to providing a nurturing, safe environment with a focus on developing social skills, meeting developmental needs, and providing educational training for children ages 18 months to 5 years, and early education and socialization activities for families with young children in Archuleta County.

Your child is special and you, as a parent, need to feel comfortable and positive about the place he spends his day.

Seeds is the only non-profit 3-star quality rated center in Archuleta County, and we are the pioneer of high quality early childhood education across the southwest section of Colorado. The 2005 Qualistar Rating demonstrates that Seeds is well recognized by the community and across the state of Colorado as having a top rated program for both toddlers and preschoolers. The major reason for not achieving the highest 4-Star Rating was our previous building.

Success in early childhood education is not measured in dollars, but in the changed lives of the children with proper preparation for school years. It has been proven that children with preschool experience do better overall in school and more often move into higher education after their basic school years. Seeds is continually honored for the results of our program when our preschoolers reach kindergarten. Parents, teachers and administrators alike contact us to voice their appreciation of our preparatory work with their students.


Why Does Quality Matter?
Research shows us what many parents and teachers know: High-quality early education in centers, homes, and schools can make a difference in children's healthy development and early learning so that they are ready for school and beyond.

Each year, millions of children spend many hours a week in out-of-home care. Many of them, however, do not have access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education programs in child care, preschool, Head Start, or school settings.


What are the Hallmarks of High-Quality in Early Childhood Programs?

• The cognitive, social, emotional, and physical developments of children receive attention so that each aspect of a child's development is mutually supported.
• Class size and adult-child ratios allow for more teacher-child interaction and individualization in supporting each child's development.
• The curriculum and teaching approach is well planned and intentional to help children cumulatively master more complex skills and knowledge.
• Teachers are prepared before they enter the field and receive ongoing professional development in early childhood development and education and receive compensation that reflects their education and training.
• Families are treated as partners in their children's development and learning both at home and in the out-of-home programs they attend.
  

• demonstrate greater social skills as preschoolers in kindergarten and primary grades and secondary school years
• begin kindergarten socially and emotionally competent and are more likely to be successful in school and less likely to have or suffer from behavioral, emotional, academic, and social development problems that follow them into adulthood
• typically have higher self-esteem and value achievement more than children who do not attend developmentally appropriate preschool

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Early Learning and School Readiness
Children in high-quality programs:

• receive higher scores on tests of thinking ability and language development while in the program
• maintain gains in intellectual functioning for at least three to four years after the program's end
• excel in mastery of pre-reading, reading and math skills, and are better prepared for school
• show greater motivation for learning and commitment to schooling
• demonstrate better classroom behavior and have better relations with teachers and classmates
• are less frequently assigned to special education classes or retained in grade in later years
• have better school attendance rates and lower school dropout rates

Later Success
The value of high-quality early childhood education to children, families and communities continues beyond the early grades of school. Children who were enrolled in high-quality programs:

• are more likely to graduate from high school and pursue postsecondary education or training
• have access to further parenting and child development education
• demonstrate less delinquent behavior and experience fewer arrests during their teen years
• have a lower rate of unemployment and show potential for higher lifetime earnings
• are less dependent on government programs as their primary source of income
• have fewer or later teen pregnancies

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