Puerta Abierta Spanish Preschool
Mission
Our Mission is to provide a Spanish immersion preschool setting that embraces cultural and racial diversity and acceptance. The school gives children an opportunity to enrich their language skills and experience cross-cultural development through age-appropriate curricula and activities.
Puerta Abierta was founded on the principle that its doors are always open to students, regardless of income level. Its goal is to provide children with a valuable play-based educational experience inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.
At Puerta Abierta Preschool all children will:
• Have the opportunity to affirm their cultural heritage.
• Acquire an understanding, appreciation and acceptance of other cultures.
• Develop age-appropriate first and second language and literacy skills in Spanish and English.
Playing With Language
A Reggio Emilia Inspired Approach
Puerta Abierta is a Spanish immersion preschool in Evanston providing bilingual language development and multiculturalism.
Our school offers a play-based curriculum inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. Founded in 1997, we are Evanston’s only preschool to offer complete Spanish immersion. Puerta Abierta’s instruction is entirely in Spanish. Our students are a mix of native Spanish and English speakers as well as children with a background in both or other languages. These emergent bilingual children work together to acquire or continue developing Spanish at an early age. This dual-language population promotes bilingual language acquisition, as children use each other as language models in addition to their teachers. Immersed in a multicultural and multilingual environment, children grow crucial emotional and intellectual skills. Our model promotes the development of long-term bilingual, biliterate, and multicultural learners.
Community & Schedule
Puerta Abierta follows the school calendar for District 65
Community
Our small community of diverse families is inclusive and close-knit. We encourage parents to share expertise and talents as field trip chaperones, classroom readers, event planners, and more. Our loving and skilled teachers—all native Spanish speakers—welcome home/school connections to foster student growth.
Our classrooms maintain a staff-to-child ratio of between 1:5 and 1:8 depending on children’s ages, with a maximum of 20 children per classroom. We have three classrooms divided between two age groupings: two-year-olds and mixed-age.
For additional information about what our Evanston community offers, click HERE.
Schedule
Puerta Abierta closely follows District 65’s calendar for non-attendance days.
Half-Day Program: Morning Classes: 8:45 – 11:30 a.m.
Afternoon Classes: 12:15 – 3:00 p.m.
Full-Day Program: Monday – Friday: 7:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Additional options: Early Care: 7:45 – 8:45 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
After Care: 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. -Temporarily Unavailable
Based on availability, children may attend school between two and five days per week (half- or full-day or a combination).
Enrollment & Tuition
We are accepting applications for the 2021-2022 school year!
Puerta Abierta welcomes any child whose first language is Spanish or whose parents are interested in their child’s early acquisition of Spanish as a second language.
Children should be at least two years old by their first day of school. Puerta Abierta accepts ongoing applications throughout the school year, based on availability.
Reduced tuition may be available based on family size, income, and availability of scholarship funds. Families also may qualify for funding through Preschool for All or Illinois Action for Children.