Xiente launches Busesito, region's first preschool on wheels

Busesito is Spanish for Little Bus, and the mobile preschool program, launched this spring by the non-profit Xiente, is believed to be the first on the East Coast.

It is a two-generational program that recently graduated its first batch of preschoolers and their families.

The children, 3-5 years old, board the bus to learn the skills they'll need for kindergarten, while parents get lessons on financial literacy, parenting and any other issues that are standing in the way of their upward mobility.

Xiente was founded as the Norris Square Civic Association in 1982 by a group of Puerto Rican women who wanted to make their neighborhood cleaner and safer.

It was soon renamed the Norris Square Community Alliance.

But, as the community they served spread beyond the Norris Square neighborhood, the non-profit rebranded again to Xiente.

The programs, all free, are in both English and Spanish.

For the wee ones, they offer everything from infant care to early head start to preschool programs.

There's a Youth Take Action Center that offers teens a safe space after school until 2 a.m. and on weekends.

It has an e-sports room, a cafe, a computer lab where kids can take college readiness courses, and a game room.

The Busesito program has two certified teachers on the bus with a maximum of eight students who get five hours a week of instruction for six months.

Xiente Education Vice President Adamary Sosa says children on the bus are already testing higher on school readiness assessments than children who are actually in school five days a week, six hours a day.

Xiente is currently accepting students for both its mobile and physical preschools.

Xiente | Enrollment