JOYCE PRESCHOOL

You go to preschool. You fight over the best smelling scented markers, and you listen while the teacher reads you “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” You don't see yourself being educated, but between snack time and taking turns on the slide, you learn the foundation for reading, for writing, for math, for social interaction, for every class you take from here on out, for high school and college – for your life.

But what if you can't understand a word your teacher says?

We see the answer to that question playing out in our community every day – and at Joyce Preschool, we’re working to make it better. In Minneapolis, many Latino children don't graduate from high school because they never got adequate basic reading, writing and math skills. This problem begins even before kindergarten, during the preschool years. About 60% of Latino children in Minneapolis are not kindergarten-ready when they start, and for the majority of them, education becomes an uphill battle — and a losing one.

Joyce Preschool offers a solution: our innovative two-way immersion (English/Spanish) program provides all our students with quality learning at the time when it matters most. Our students build a solid foundation for elementary school and their parents gain resources and tools to support their children’s learning. By focusing on school readiness, language acquisition, and family support, we see real results. After two years in our program, 100 percent of Joyce's students graduate kindergarten-ready.

We provide scholarships to more than half our students each year – scholarships funded through gifts from individual donors. Your contribution today brings books and scented markers to kids who might not have them at home, but it also brings cross-cultural understanding, love of learning, and the opportunity to succeed in school and in life.