Our Program
The Sagebrush Story
Prior to becoming Sagebrush, the school at the edge of the canyon had been treasured by the Del Cerro community for almost 25 years. When families and staff received notification of closure in July 2023, it activated a movement to preserve the school through any means possible.
Over the course of three weeks, the community held Zoom meetings, pursued all avenues of sustainability, generously offered support to the teaching staff and volunteered their time, talents and resources.
Through creative collaboration, three parents of enrolled students were able to establish new ownership of the center, while maintaining the staff and core values that were the foundation of the school. Sagebrush emerged and officially opened it’s doors on August 21st, 2023, without any gap in service during the transition period.
Sagebrush honors the roots from which it emerged as it welcomes the next generation of early education to flourish in the center.
Our Approach
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Reggio Emilia Philosophy
The Reggio Emilia approach is a philosophy of early education that believes children learn best when their education is self-directed and supported by strong relationships with caregivers. Experiential learning, including making mistakes and messes, is essential to giving children full mastery of the amazing things their bodies and minds can do. When teachers understand each individual child’s inner world, they can provide attuned responses that support growth based on where the child is in the moment.
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Social-Emotional Skill Development
The Latin roots of “discipline” mean “to teach.” At Sagebrush, each interaction is an opportunity to support children in learning important self-help and pro-social skills. While it is typical for young children to occasionally hit, bite or use inappropriate language, staff address each event and child individually to ensure an opportunity for skill development. In any situation, safety is the priority. Staff will model appropriate behaviors and coach children through skill practice both in the moment and throughout the days to ensure mastery of new socio-emotional skills.
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Toilet Learning
Each child shows signs of readiness to begin the toilet learning process at different stages of their early education experience. As a center, we are committed to following each child’s lead and nurturing a child’s curiosity through positive reinforcement. Sagebrush does not require children to be fully independent with toileting at any point in their time with our program.