The St. Augustine Child Enrichment Center is a high-quality child care and preschool on Cleveland’s west side. They serve children from six weeks to five years old and promote a love of learning. Recently they celebrated their 20th anniversary and had their first family reunion for both old and new families.

Stephanie Moore, director of the Child Enrichment Center, recounted that they thought they might get only 10 kids and their families to come, but 55 of their past students, from ages seven months to 21 years old, returned with their families. In total more than 120 people came to the reunion. The teachers had not seen some of the students for more than 14 years and were excited to hear what the students remembered about their time at St. Augustine and how they are doing now.

One of the main questions Stephanie asked her past students at the reunion is how they are doing in school. She asks this of all her students when they come back to the center to visit. They often tell her that they are an honor roll student or get mostly A’s and B’s in school. Stephanie said that this goes back to the fact that “the beginning foundations of education is what makes them what they are later on.” The early education the students received at St. Augustine created a foundation that other learning experiences could build upon, which set them up for success in kindergarten and the rest of their education.

The impact the center has had on the children they have served is clear. Stephanie spoke about a child who was having some speech difficulties. The center’s staff told her family, had her evaluated, and got her the speech therapy that she needed. She improved quickly and by the time she was ready to go to kindergarten she had tested out of the services. She is now a teenager and when she recently made the honor roll, the first people she told were Stephanie and the staff at St. Augustine because of how much they had shaped her education and helped her. Her mother has also thanked the St. Augustine staff for giving her daughter the services and support she needed. This student was at the reunion and got to see many of her past classmates, some of whom she had not seen since preschool.

The reunion was a heartwarming and at times emotional event where children who grew up together, yet had not seen each other in years were reunited. Many of the oldest students who returned reminisced about the times they had in the center and laughed about who used to like whom. At one point some of the teenagers asked Stephanie if they could go to their old preschool classroom. They all sat together at a table that was much too small for them in tiny chairs and laughed over memories that had taken place in that room. 

The families who currently take their children to the center enjoyed hearing the stories of past students and seeing the success they are having now. There was one woman who told Stephanie that she recently had a baby and she is not taking them anywhere but St. Augustine. This kind of response is linked to the quality care that St. Augustine’s staff provide for the children they serve. Stephanie tells parents that she has the same expectations for their kids as she does for her own. It shows in how supportive and proud she is of her students. When she heard at the family reunion about a past student who is currently doing an engineering internship, she became so excited and recalled, “that’s our little Rosie.” Stephanie said she could not have asked for a better response at their first reunion. The success of the event is a reflection of how formative high-quality early education can be and the impact that Stephanie and her staff have made in the lives of their students. The kids asked Stephanie if they could have another reunion next year and she laughed and said they can try to do one every couple years from now on.