Established in 1971, the Spanish Education Development (SED) Center provides bilingual education programs for children ages 3 months to 4 years, their families, and adults in the Washington metropolitan area. SED helps to build the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary for families to navigate an increasingly multilingual, multicultural society. 

1. How does your program prepare early learners for success upon entering kindergarten?
 
The Spanish Education Development (SED) Center prepares early learners, from 3 months to 4 yrs. of age, to enter kindergarten by providing them with a nurturing, multicultural, developmentally sound environment and developmentally appropriate curriculum. The instruction is bilingual, Spanish and English. SED works together with parents to foster and promote the best understanding and learning of how to enhance their child’s development. SED’s goal is to have parents become the best advocates in the education of their children.
 
2. What type of child development and family engagement programs do you offer?
 
The SED Center has a sound parental engagement component. Staff members work with families by having home visits, twice a year, and SED’s Parent Liaison develops a series of learning workshops and activities based on the parents’ needs and interests throughout the year. Parents are actively engaged in the program activities by participating in classroom projects, program celebrations, community activities, and outdoor events. Parents are kept informed of the program activities through written information and social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube). The SED center has an average of 880 hours of parent’s volunteer hours per year.
 
3. What advice would you give to other child care providers that you wish were given to you?
 
My best advice to other child care providers would be to love and fully commit to the work that we do. An authentic child care worker does not have a specific schedule: seizes learning opportunities to improve his/her work at all times. Going along with this belief, I would say that being a child care worker is similar to being a scientist: the searching is infinite!
 
4. How has participating in the enhanced QRIS pilot benefited your program?
 
SED’s participation in OSSE’s enhanced QRIS pilot has been a wonderful opportunity to revise, improve, and update best practices in the field of early childhood program management. It is a great opportunity to keep focused on program improvement at all levels.

*Questions answered by Martha Egas, Executive Director of the Spanish Education Development Center.
 

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