CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — An east Charlotte preschool that helps at-risk Hispanic and Latino children learn English is growing at a rapid pace.
The Central Avenue Bilingual Preschool, which has hundreds of children on its waiting list, helps children living in high poverty areas.
Michael Gonzalez has attended the school for two years and gets better at learning the English language every day. He and his mother, Rosario, are from Mexico.
"He's learned colors, numbers, letters and shapes, everything," Rosario Albarran said.
The preschool also provides courses for parents.
"Parents come to class almost as much as the children do," director Barbara Cantisano said. "They have English classes and parenting classes that deal with ages and stages and discipline techniques and budgeting."
Cantisano said the goal is to get families ready for the Charlotte school system.
The preschool opened in 1999 with 15 children, and it now has 130 students.
"We have a very long waiting list," Cantisano said. "We fill up very fast."
In May, a second school opened at Caldwell Presbyterian Church. Now, the waiting list has 270 children.
Cantisano said all of the students enrolled were born in the U.S., but many of their parents and siblings were not. When it comes to controversy over immigration, Cantisano's stance is simple:
"I'm an educator, so I'm always going to push for education," she said. "And I think we can only be better as a society if we have a good, educated society, basically."
For more information on the Central Avenue Bilingual Preschool, click here.