Early Childhood Education  

 About SmartSteps

SmartSteps has a mission of Early Childhood Education and Parental Training for needy Birth to Age 5 Children and their Parents living on the East Side of Aurora, Illinois (zip 60505). 

We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and provide our services free to needy parents and young children. We have a waiting list of over 100 young children who need SmartSteps services. You can help us to serve more needy Aurora young children by Clicking Here or on the Donate button in the right column.

We believe that a child's first five yearly smart steps are vital in their cognitive - social - emotional development and success in life. The majority of the small children in SmartSteps come from homes that are in severe poverty, where there may be only one parent present, and where the average Mother has only a 10th grade education.

We designed SmartSteps in a way so as to intervene early in a child's life and provide a logical set of smart steps toward improved educational outcomes and a better life.

Extensive Early Childhood Education Research by an esteemed Nobel Laureate and countless research studies prove that our mission of helping needy Birth to Age 5 children is the right thing to do if these children are ever going to have a chance of escaping the vicious cycle of generational poverty.

Dr. James J. Heckman says: "The real question is how to use our scarce education resources wisely. The best evidence supports the polcy prescription to Invest In The Very Young."

Here's the Early Childhood Education Investment Math. The variable cost for each additional SmartSteps Parent Educator is about $36,000 per year. Each Parent Educator is responsible for 20 Child/Mother pairs at $1800 per year .... or some $5400 over the full 3 years the Child & Mother are in the SmartSteps program. The Lifetime ROI for the Child & Society for this $5400 Investment far exceeds $108,000 .... a 20X ROI.

The SmartSteps formula is a simple one: Early learning begets later learning and early success breeds later success. We firmly believe that just as a child's first steps are important in learning how to walk and run, the Early Childhood Education Steps that parents take in their child's first five years are just as vital for the child to succeed in Kindergarten and beyond.

Our supporters see SmartSteps being similar to the principles and coordinated efforts  used by more affluent and college educated parents when they take the wise and proven steps to prepare their young child for Preschool and Kindergarten.

The East Side of Aurora we serve is predominately Hispanic. At SmartSteps we stress English with both the parent and child and conduct our classes in English so the child has a high level of English proficiency when they enter Preschool and Kindergarten. We provide age appropriate childrens books in English so that the parent can read and interact better with their child in English.

SmartSteps uses the highly acclaimed Birth to Age 3 PATS - Parents As Teacher educational model with experienced and professional Parent Educators. Our bilingual Parent Educators conduct individualized home visits and also take part in classes  with Parents and Children at our 594 Fifth Ave. Community Center.

After the Birth to Age 3 PATS program is completed, we work with parents to have their children enrolled in  Aurora East School District 131 PreSchool-3, PreSchool-4, and Kindergarten programs. When SmartSteps children enter First Grade they are noticeable ahead of their classmates and have a much improved chance of graduating from High School and going on to college .... they are Self-Motivated Learners Continuing Their SmartSteps In Life!

During the summer months and throughout the year we provide regular reading classes, story hours, library bookmobile visits, field trips and many additional activities for both parents and children.We also provide Parenting Training, Referral Services and Charitable Services for needy participants.

The SmartSteps President, Marcela Jones, has been a leader in Aurora's Early Childhood Education efforts for over 12 years.

SmartSteps is partially funded by a State of Illinois Early Childhood Education Grant.  The City of Aurora contributes the use of the newly remodeled and child friendly Community Center. We also thank our private and corporate donors for their generous support.

In addition, we give kind thanks to Illinois House Representative Linda Chapa LaVia and other local and state leaders for being strong supporters of SmartSteps and Early Childhood Education. State budget cuts that deprive children of a strong developmental start mean society and taxpayers lose, too.

Our Aurora, Illinois, and U.S. economies are in financial distress and SmartSteps has had to tighten its belt. We have done so and made personal sacrifices while not sacrificing quality or cutting any vital services to the needy young children and parents we serve.

Please call us at 630-236-9440 if we can be of assistance to a young child on Aurora's East Side of if you wish to donate or volunteer your services.