All children need a safe, nurturing and enriched learning environment to fulfill their potential and enter school ready to learn. The Pearl Buck Preschool program is designed for families led by parents with cognitive challenges, whose children are at risk.
Most children whose parents have cognitive challenges are born without disabilities. However, their parents often lack the knowledge and means to provide the early learning experiences children need to thrive in kindergarten and beyond. These children are also at risk of abuse and neglect, even if unintended. Pearl Buck Preschool nurtures the children’s development and empowers parents to meet their family’s needs.
Our tuition-free, wraparound program includes:
Specialized, year-round preschool for at-risk children whose parents have cognitive challenges.
Parent supports and parenting education adapted for adults with diverse learning abilities, including in-home visits and at Pearl Buck Center.
Case management/outreach to assist families to meet basic needs and maintain a safe, stable home.
In the classroom
Our preschool has small classes of children age two to five, separated by age. With the teachers’ individualized attention, children acquire self-help skills, language/literacy skills, and social/emotional skills. Each school day includes healthy meals and door-to-door transportation.
Pearl Buck Preschool carries a five-star rating (highest possible) from Oregon’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS).
Most children who graduate from the program each year enter kindergarten without needing special education services.
We begin to work on and assess kindergarten readiness skills such as early math, science, pre-literacy and social skills when children are three years of age, and individualize lesson plans to build these important skills.
In-home parent supports
Raising a family is challenging under the best circumstances. In addition to our preschool program, we use a home-based approach to help parents with cognitive challenges develop their skills in all areas of parenting.
We help parents with cognitive challenges to build self-esteem and resilience so they can continue to succeed after they leave our program. Parental resilience has been shown to decrease child abuse and neglect.
Our preschool consistently operates at full enrollment and there are many eligible families on our wait list. Unfortunately, we have the financial capacity to use only three of our six classrooms. Learn more about different ways to give to this program below.
Since starting at Pearl Buck Preschool, my son’s vocabulary has increased and he is able to express himself more. He’s learning to share and make friends as well.
- Parent
Thank you to our community partners
We appreciate our partners who help us change the lives of children and families for the better. Home visiting to enrolled families is supported by a grant from the Human Services Commission, City of Eugene, City of Springfield, and Lane County.
Most children whose parents have cognitive challenges are born without disabilities. However, their parents often lack the knowledge and means to provide the early learning experiences children need to thrive in kindergarten and beyond. These children are also at risk of abuse and neglect, even if unintended. Pearl Buck Preschool nurtures the children’s development and empowers parents to meet their family’s needs.
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