An Amazing Journey

Little Sprouts Family and Friends,  

What a glorious time of year. We are grateful for this journey at Little Sprouts as it is our real world experience that reveals to us the Power of One-- One child, One teacher, One Community, One breath, One world, One future. 

We are thrilled that the Revolution we are part of has finally made its mark with those who have the opportunity to make a difference. What has transformed from babysitting into daycare, into child care and finally into early education showcases the evolution of our work.  Little Sprouts has received much press, accolades, and awards in the past two years and we are grateful for the opportunity to be pioneers in bringing awareness to the urgency of investing in our future, our children, living our "Plant Early, Grow Strong" mantra.

We would like to share with you the awards, articles and accolades we have received in the last 24 months:

• National Top Business' in Diversity Award
• MA School Committee Partners in Education Award
• Best of the Best Greater Merrimack Valley
• Best of the Best Southern New Hampshire
• US Department of Education's Preschool Centers of Excellence Award
• 100 Top Women-Led Business in MA Award

Our time has come to bring awareness to the reality that investing in early childhood education is an investment in economic development in order to stay competitive in the global marketplace. The research shows that even by 1st grade, any academic intervention is already too late. Do you know that the United States is the only developed nation that does not offer preschool as part of their public education system? Do you know that research has proven that alphabet knowledge scores upon entering kindergarten are a better prediction of lifelong reading success than a child's IQ score?  

We have had many visits from around the world this year including federal evaluators from US Department of Education, Professors from Rutgers, Georgetown, Illinois University that have shared their insight on the differentiators that makes Little Sprouts so unique. Among them:

• Professional Development- Our teachers are offered over 100 hours of in-house training per year and last year our teachers participated in  an average 67 hours of professional development.  In contrast, the average teacher from NAEYC Accredited centers in the nation participating in an average 18 hours.
•  Culture- evaluators have highlighted the enthusiasm in our teachers, administrators and management. They see, feel, hear, and smell the Little Sprouts difference. They acknowledge the uniqueness in our cultural of Interconnectedness and the support every One extends on behalf of the success of each child, family and educator to make "Plant Early, Grow Strong" a reality. The supportive environment we create, with inviting music, balancing aroma therapy, vibrant colors and spaces all contribute to Little Sprouts culture recognizing that we are extensions of our environment.
•  Intentional Diversity: At Little Sprouts we believe diversity creates understanding, creates compassion, creates unity, creates acceptance.

We believe we share the same earth, same breath and the same future-The Future needs to start with building compassion. Little Sprouts is preparing our children, not only for a better education, but preparing them to be well balanced citizens of the earth.

• Partnerships- Little Sprouts will always have the belief, "come play in our sandbox and we'll let you come play in ours." Margret Mead said it best with, "Never doubt that a group of thoughtful commitment citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has."  Our success has been built on the Power of Partnerships. A few of our recent partners:
• WGBH Partners to implement and create research based media/literacy curriculum for Between the Lions and Peep in the Big Wide World
• WCVB TV Channel 5 and the Boston Channel Local Experts of Early Education
• Salvatore's Restaurant

We are grateful to all who have contributed to the first 27 years at Little Sprouts and look forward to the next 27 years of Sprouting and continuing our journey to Plant Early, Grow Strong.

Love, Laughter and Well Being

Susan Leger-Ferraro