A Second Home for Preschoolers and Moms

Isolated as a young mother in a new country, Maria Elena Romero found solace--and opportunity--at an unusual school for children and mothers alike.

One part preschool, the other part support group, the 40-year-old organization aims to educate two generations at once.

The Mother’s Club Community Center in Pasadena has become “like a second home” to Romero, 38.

“When I stayed at home, I didn’t have any friends and I didn’t know anybody,” she said. “When I am here, I feel great.”

While their children learn to sing songs and write their ABCs, mothers attend classes of their own, learning to speak English, read books and play an active part in their children’s development.

Mother’s Club offers early childhood education to youngsters up to age 5. Eight teachers accredited or trained in early childhood education--along with many parent volunteers--instruct the children in activities geared to their age levels.

But the finger-painted butterflies, pint-size furniture and building-block traditions of preschool are only part of what Mother’s Club is all about.

Founded in 1961 by Quakers as a refuge for women and children of imprisoned men, Mother’s Club has changed with the times. The curriculum is now designed to help the mostly immigrant mothers and their children get a head start on education.

“Mother’s Club is trying to be the link between the home and the schools,” said Silvana Casalegno, who is in charge of enrolling mothers and organizing the curriculum. “[Teachers] always say, ‘If I could just take the mother and talk to her.’ Mother’s Club does that.”

About 15% of the 120 kindergarten students at nearby Madison Elementary School have attended Mother’s Club, said the principal, Celia Ayala.

The preschoolers have skill levels similar to those at other preschools--but the Mother’s Club moms are more prepared than other parents, Ayala said.

“It has not only benefited the little ones in terms of their development, but it has also benefited the parents,” she said.

Ayala said Mother’s Club moms are more likely than others to become parent leaders for school events, and more of them join school committees.

“The tremendous gain, I believe, is with the mothers, and that is for a lifetime.”

With adult-education classes including literacy, English as a second language and preparation for the General Educational Development Test, “we have so many women go on to stronger lives,” said director Susan Kujawa, who was a Mother’s Club mom in the 1970s.

Romero is an example. In 1994, several years after her arrival in the United States, Romero was a stay-at-home mom with a newborn daughter and limited English skills.

When endless days in the house began to wear her down, Romero began looking for something more. One day during a walk in her neighborhood, Romero and her daughter stumbled upon Mother’s Club. She stopped for information and began attending the next day.

Now Romero trades recipes with other mothers, zealously tackles the English language and makes plans to attend cosmetology school this year, a dream she has had since she was a young girl in Puebla, Mexico.

Her oldest daughter, Sharon, 6, has gone on to kindergarten. But the educational foundation she received at Mother’s Club endured. Last September, she was named student of the month. Romero’s youngest daughter, Sidney, 3, has been attending Mother’s Club since she was a month old.

On a recent sunny weekday, children of all ages were riding tricycles, digging in sandboxes and baking Play-Doh cakes in a plastic stove.

Strollers were lined up around the chain-link fence. As they arrived, mothers settled their tots on tiny benches and balanced bowls of cereal in one hand and notebooks in the other.

When classes began, 30 mothers gathered around a long folding table in the main meetinghouse. They spoke in Spanish as they cut and pasted photographs and confided their thoughts to journals. The journals, filled with letters, drawings and family trees, are one of the ways mothers explore their hopes and dreams.

Some days, the mothers practice reading children’s books that they later read to their youngsters at home. A new incentive program rewards them with a ticket for each day they read.

After class, at a makeshift store in the preschool room, mothers traded the tickets for books, games and educational toys.

“Some parents who have never had time to read to their kids have started to read to them every night,” said children’s program director Julie Espinoza.

Mother’s Club is more of a family than a school, mothers said. They share problems and ideas, celebrate birthdays and try to help one another.

In October, they organized a yard sale to raise money for an in-house loan system. They raised more than $400 for a fund that now provides mothers in need with confidential assistance for rent, bills or other emergencies.

“There is a lot of support,” said Yvette Wilson, 37, a Mexican American with 2-year-old and 14-month-old sons, remembering her gratitude when Mother’s Club helped her get a turkey and gifts for her family during a tough Christmas.

Mother’s Club is free to anyone interested. The half-million-dollar operation runs solely on grants and donations.

There are, however, a few rules. Mothers are expected to attend regularly and are encouraged to help out in the classrooms once a week.

The 40 to 50 moms at the Pasadena site know that a two-week absence draws a warning letter telling them to come back or lose their spot to one of the 26 names on the waiting list.

Some waiting families are referred to the second site in Altadena, which opened in 1998. Free shuttle service at both locations helps those who live too far away to walk.

There is one rule all mothers wish they didn’t have to follow. When their last child turns 5, club membership expires.

“No way am I leaving!” said Wilson, laughing. “To me, Mother’s Club has been like a little piece of heaven.”