Catholic Charities Head Start leads local Montessori project

By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | Head Start, the federal government’s comprehensive early childhood education and health service for low-income families, has selected Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami to pilot a Montessori educational program.

Montessori is an alternative and often highly effective educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods.

Traditionally, it has also been an educational option often out of reach for low-income families due to the high cost of teacher certification and enrollment.

However, Head Start of Miami-Dade County has selected Miami Catholic Charities to implement a Montessori program for Head Start families this school year, following a required Montessori teacher certification process at Barry University in Miami — the only regional institution offering Montessori training, according to organizers.

That teacher training process for Catholic Charities Head Start teachers has been underway at Barry for the past two years.

“Our facility in Homestead in South Dade is going to be one of the models for all the Head Start programs in Miami,” said Peter Routsis-Arroyo, CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami. Another is at Holy Redeemer Parish, also in Miami.

Routsis-Arroyo and Catholic Charities Head Start staff attended a Miami-Dade County Head Start conference and awards luncheon Aug. 9, 2024, where a number of Catholic Charities staff members were recognized, including Evelyn Molina, who will lead the Homestead pilot program.

Molina was honored as the Head Start Director of the Year for Miami-Dade County, while Catholic Charities Head Start staff member Ileana Govea was named the (Head Start) Teacher Aide of the Year.

Gladys Palacios, Senior Director, Child Development Services for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, notes that the archdiocese provides quality child development services to children ages 3 months to 5 years and their families throughout Miami-Dade County, particularly in diverse communities of need.

Head Start-Catholic Charities operates six different locations, providing support to low-income families, including those with special needs, through the Head Start, Early Head Start, and VPK programs.

“Over the past year, two of our centers—South Dade and Holy Redeemer Parish—were selected to implement the Montessori program. This initiative has been very successful and offers a valuable opportunity for low-income families, as this program is typically expensive and offered mainly by private schools,” Palacios said.

“The good thing is that (Montessori) prepares the kids to do things individually by using things in real life, using real materials,” she added. “I think it is a great program for independence, with a focus on child development and real experience in life.”

Catholic Charities’ philosophy emphasizes recognizing the dignity of each child and nurturing them within the context of their family and culture, promoting a strong foundation for learning and school readiness, Palacios added.

All the centers are licensed and recognized by the State of Florida for achieving the Gold Seal of Excellence. Additionally, Catholic Charities and all of its programs are accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Becoming a Montessori teacher involves an expensive certification process — those staff have to go through very specific training to work in an environment affordable to families who can pay about $18,000 a year for preschool, according to Maria Riestra-Quintero, president of the Florida Head Start Association and director of the Miami-Dade Head Start and Early Head Start program.

“We are trying to bring families who are low income or at risk to gain access to this type of curriculum which is rigorous,” Riestra-Quintero said, adding that about 10 percent of those families have children who qualify as special needs students of one kind or another.

Awardee and center director for Catholic Charities, Evelyn Molina, said the grant enabled teachers to offset the estimated $10,000 fee to become certified in the Montessori educational method.

“What I like about the Montessori philosophy is the teacher is introducing lessons of interest to the children while they work independently and we find it helps a lot for children with special needs and based on the level that the teacher sees (they are capable of),” Molina said.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami has limited openings for families interested in enrolling in the Head Start and Early Head Start programs offered at its six child development centers in Miami-Dade County.

Head Start is a free, federally funded program designed to promote school readiness for children in low-income families. Head Start serves children ages three months to five years and provides social, nutritional, health, mental health, disability and family enrichment services, as well as assistance in obtaining SNAP/food stamps, housing and public assistance.

FIND OUR MORE

Catholic Charities’ child development centers are located in Cutler Bay, Homestead, Little Haiti, Little Havana, Miami and Liberty City. For information, call 305-576-7750 or visit Child Development Services on the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami website.