Boise's Lincoln Early Learning Center empowers children

Boise School District’s new Lincoln Early Learning Center is helping children ages three to five get a strong start through early education and support services.

• The center focuses on holistic child development, offering programs for both general education and special needs students.
• Families also benefit from resources like a lending library and connections to community services, ensuring comprehensive support beyond the classroom.
• Idaho News 6 and the Scripps Howard Fund are committed to ensuring all children have access to reading with our ‘Give a Child a Book’ campaign. Click here to donate.

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)

"One of the things I really love watching is the growth from day one to the end of the year," says Cathy Burrus, center supervisor for Head Start.

Burrus is the center supervisor for the Head Start program at Lincoln Early Learning Center. She’s seen firsthand the benefits of early education programs since her kids first enrolled 25 years ago.

"It’s just gone throughout their whole life. I still see it to this day, them being great adults in the community," says Burrus.

At Boise School District’s new Lincoln Early Learning Center, kids aged three to five years old are excited to start learning.

“It’s working on the whole child — getting them socially ready, getting them academically ready,” says Lisa Ramey Hernandez, administrator at the Lincoln Early Learning Center.

The center also offers special education programs and resources for low-income families. The classroom environment teaches independence with activities like washing their hands and sharing family-style meals, along with social and educational experiences like group play, learning to trace shapes, and writing their names.

“Research has really shown that having this inclusion and early intervention is truly beneficial to a child, not only for students with learning disabilities but also for those without disabilities,” says Ramey Hernandez.

Studies show the number of books a child can access at home is one of the greatest predictors of a child’s success in school and beyond. That is why the center also offers external support like a lending library and a focus on getting young kids familiar with books early on.

“Being able to answer questions within it, point to pictures in a book,” says Ramey Hernandez.

And beyond the classroom, for families like Cathy’s, "They get families connected with doctors, they get connected with the community resources that are out there — housing, help with their rent, help with gas, groceries — we give them all those resources. I’ve watched the growth, being a part of the community classroom, and it’s been amazing. It’s been absolutely amazing. I just love it," says Burrus.