[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15993]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CELEBRATING THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF EL PRIMER PASO LTD.

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2014

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor El Primer Paso 
Ltd., located in the Town of Dover, County of Morris, New Jersey as it 
celebrates its 45th Anniversary.
  El Primer Paso's mission is to provide and serve the community with 
culturally responsive resources for families and children. High-quality 
and inclusive early childhood programs are provided to children in 
order to foster literacy and dual language learning. Education programs 
for parents and other community members are also provided to increase 
literacy and dual language proficiency.
  A group of volunteers founded El Primer Paso in the year of 1969 with 
the objective of preparing local Hispanic children for American public 
school systems through preschool programs that were both bilingual and 
multicultural in nature. In 1976, El Primer Paso received a CETA Grant 
which allowed the program to become formalized with salaried workers 
and sessions. Since the formalization of El Primer Paso, an ``English-
as-a-Second-Language'' program, a program for three-year-olds and a 
Family Childcare Program have been introduced in addition to the 
curriculums and sessions that the program also supports. El Primer 
Paso's efforts were awarded in 2009 as the program became one of the 
first in the nation to earn accreditation from the National Association 
for the Education of Young Children.
  El Primer Paso's preschool program offers families a very affordable 
and beneficial preschool education for their children. Classes are 
taught in a bilingual format to children between the ages of three and 
five and are meant to foster language skills and build upon vocabulary 
for children in both English and Spanish. El Primer Paso follows the NJ 
Department of Education early childhood curriculum model, Creative 
Curriculum, which is a program that fosters positive social-emotional 
relationships, constructive play to support learning, and teacher-
family partnerships inside and outside of the classrooms. The preschool 
program is offered on a full day and half day basis for children.
  El Primer Paso also offers an ``English-as-a-Second-Language'' 
program which focuses on educating adults of all levels of English 
proficiency on appropriate English dialogue in the workplace and in 
social situations. This program enhances the individual's proficiency 
in English and builds upon their active English vocabulary. This 
program also examines cultural issues and empowers minorities to pursue 
their versions of the American dream. The Family Child Care program 
offered by El Primer Paso provides families connections to child care 
providers for low to mid-level income families.
  El Primer Paso's core values of integrity, respect, early literacy 
and family involvement in education, acceptance of differences and 
community partnerships are truly admirable in today's increasingly 
globalized and cosmopolitan world. Such programs allow children from 
low income minority families to thrive in American public school 
systems and allow minority adults to transition smoother into adult 
life in the United States of America.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
El Primer Paso Ltd., its trustees, administrators and supporters as it 
celebrates its 45th Anniversary.

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