BLUESKIES FOR CHILDREN INC
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Mission Statement
The mission of BlueSkies is to practice and teach an optimal approach to education and care of young children based on the interrelated disciplines of human development. Such an approach sustains and supports today’s children and families and provides an educational center for caregivers and the community. The history of the organization began years before official incorporation, when the founder ran a center in East Oakland caring primarily for the children of young teen mothers in residence. The center served babies starting life in the most fragile circumstances, lacking financial resources and institutionalized with their teen mothers who needed to learn parenting skills. During the founder’s six-year tenure she developed the philosophical foundation of BlueSkies, blending the nurturing of home with the enrichment of preschool. The program, developed for an extremely underprivileged population and now in place at BlueSkies for children from varied socioeconomic backgrounds, proves that all children thrive when they are given respectful, developmental support by educated, caring adults in a healthy environment.
About This Cause
BlueSkies is committed to providing high-quality support to children and their families, ensuring that parents can focus on their jobs knowing that their children are experiencing healthy days of balanced play, nurturing, and learning. BlueSkies, a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 program founded in 1983, is the only NAEYC-accredited childcare center in Oakland. The National Association for the Education of Young Children has been a national program for the accreditation of Early Education programs for over 30 years. There is a direct correlation between high-quality early learning and children’s positive long-term outcomes in life, including increased educational attainment, healthier lifestyles, and more successful careers. NAEYC accreditation helps teachers and other staff in early learning programs develop a shared understanding of and commitment to quality. The accreditation process leads to increased staff morale, greater staff retention, and a more positive, energetic work atmosphere overall—enabling centers to provide a solid foundation for all children’s success in life. NAEYC accreditation also helps families recognize quality early learning programs, and to feel comfortable knowing that their children are receiving a high-quality, research-based education that will prepare them for future success. NAEYC accreditation offers programs access to continuous quality-improvement, the latest research on best practices, training, technical assistance, and visibility on family-focused search engines. BlueSkies for Children has been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children since 2005. We also pride ourselves on staff development, working with Castlemont High School to train high school students to be early childhood educators for course credit, supporting career transitions for individuals interested in the field but just getting started, and supporting our staff to get their AAs, BAs, and MAs if interested, and offering other professional development support. We also provide mental health services through a partnership with an MFT on site to allow families and children to receive support as well as to guide teachers toward successful interactions with children going through big stressors. We partner with other specialists including a speech therapist, physical therapist, and occupational therapist as well. Our scholarship program, funded completely through donations rather than through siphoning from parent fees, allows us to cover an average of 70% of tuition for 15% of our current families.