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Monday, November 12, 2001
New nursery helps parents, children learn
Avance names facility for Dorothy and Luther Jones
By Guy H. Lawrence
Caller-Times

Paul Iverson/Caller-Times

Caludia Fernando Valladares, teacher of the infant class at Avance, holds 1-year-old Fernando Barajas and talks to Yesenia Angel, 16 months.

   To Martha Caudillo, raising three children is similar to caring for the tulips planted in front of their home.
   "When you put a seed into the ground it is going to grow up. You have to water it and take out the weeds," said Caudillo, 28. For the children: "you have to keep them busy learning good things, instead of being on the streets."
   That is one of the lessons Caudillo learned through Avance Corpus Christi, an early childhood and parent education program. Caudillo now turns playtime with her 2-month-old daughter Maeli into a learning activity. In the program, she sewed a multi-colored, foam-stuffed ball, which she uses to teach her daughter colors, shapes and textures.
   Caudillo has also strengthened her own literacy and English skills so she can help her 8-year-old and 6-year-old children with their homework, she said. She and her husband now participate more in their children's education, she said.
   "I have more communication with my kids," Caudillo said. "I am learning to help them in school and to build their future."
   Ex-mayor program's heart
   Caudillo is among 30 other mothers in the program at Avance's Dorothy and Luther Jones Center, located at 1509 Tarlton St.
   Avance will conduct a grand opening ceremony Friday to honor former Mayor Luther Jones and his wife Dorothy for their support of Avance in Corpus Christi.
   Elias R. Vasquez, the Nueces County grants administrator and Avance board treasurer, said the board chose to name the center for the Joneses because of their commitment

Grand opening
Avance will host a grand opening ceremony at 1 p.m. Friday, at 1509 Tarlton St., in the rear of the Primera Iglesia Bautista Church.

to the program.
   "The former mayor has been the heart and soul of Avance," Vasquez said. "He is always looking out for children. He loves children, especially the underprivileged children that we are trying to help."
   Vasquez said that Jones has been a strong fund-raiser for the program.
   "He is so well known and loved. He will knock on any door," Vasquez said. "He is out there promoting Avance wherever he goes."
   'Big beautiful nursery'
   The new Tarlton Street center allowed the program to move from cramped office space on Weber Road, said Alicia De Leon Williams, executive director of Avance. The Primera Iglesia Bautista church provided the space for the new center. Avance turned to the church because the schools from which it was recruiting parents did not have space, she said.
   "We started looking for places in the community that might offer us free space, and Primera Iglesia responded," she said. "Now we have that big beautiful nursery to provide our classes."
   The center was built with donated materials and labor, she said.
   Avance hopes to open multiple sites in the city, including in the West Oso Independent School District, where the program was initially housed before the temporary building they used was removed, Williams said.
   'The first teachers'
   The center on Tarlton Street serves 34 children and 30 mothers, said Norma Cantu, the program manager. Avance recruited participants with the help of the Corpus Christi Independent School District. The center has a waiting list of applicants and can only serve more children when it gets more funding for teachers, Cantu said.
   The program, which began in San Antonio, is designed to help mothers and fathers be better teachers for their children, Cantu said. The parents not only learn how to teach their children, but also receive high-school equivalency diplomas and literacy training, she said.
   "The parents are the first teachers of their children. That is very important," Cantu said.
   In addition, Avance invites speakers from social agencies on nutrition and health, housing and insurance programs to talk to the parents about those services, Cantu said.
   The program is strengthening Caudillo's vision of her own future.
   "I want to keep going to school and get my GED, and I would like to become a teacher. I really like to be with kids," Caudillo said.


Contact Guy H. Lawrence at 886-3792 or at lawrenceg@caller.com

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