KinderCasa Preschool

Early Childhood Center

77 State St.
Norwalk OH 44857
419-541-0605
kindercasa@hotmail.com
www.kindercasa.org

Advisory Board
La Junta Consultiva
Danita Conway, President
Sarah Blakeman, Secretary
Gail Reynolds, Treasurer
Whitney Aquino-Price
Sue Lesch
Bob Sands
Angie Smith
ex officio:
Serena Bowles, Director/Teacher

KinderCasa Preschool receives its

501c3 tax exempt status under
the auspices of Norwalk Catholic
School. It is funded entirely
through tax deductible community
donations and the United Fund.

La Escuela Pre-escolar de Kinder-

Casa recibe su exención de im-
puestos 501c3 bajo la protección
de la Escuela Católica de Norwalk.
La escuela esta financiada total-
mente por donaciones de la comun-
idad y el United Fund.
The 2021-2022 school year was a great year of learning and fun at
KinderCasa Preschool! Because all 9 of our students from the 2020-2021
school year went on to kindergarten, we began this past year with a fresh
batch of 13 new students. We also welcomed our new classroom aide, Mrs.
Teresa Roll, into our KinderCasa family. She has quickly become beloved by
all! In “getting back to normal,” our fabulous volunteers were able to return
to our classroom as well!
In addition, KinderCasa received a generous grant from the Geotrac
Foundation, with which we purchased new books, new learning games, and a
brand new computer and monitor!
 Each child is a precious gift from God. At KinderCasa Preschool, we realize the importance of lovingly
encouraging the uniqueness, creativity, curiosity, and self-esteem of each child. Our goals include:
• Providing a free, developmentally appropriate, Christian preschool for children of families whose primary
language is Spanish.
• Providing a warm, happy learning environment in which the children grow and develop kindergarten
readiness skills with an emphasis on learning to understand and speak English.
• Offering opportunities to develop fine and gross motor control, the ability to express questions, needs,
thoughts and feelings in English, and the belief of being loved and valued as a creation of God.

KinderCasa’s program is structured around the Creative Curriculum framework, with the goal of helping
our children start kindergarten on a more even footing with their English-speaking peers. Our instruction is
in English, and supplemented with Spanish when needed. It is amazing to see how quickly and how well the
children begin to understand! We use a combination of large-group, small-group and individual learning expe-
riences to facilitate the children’s acquisition of the English language, early reading and early math skills.
We play games, put together puzzles, read books, write stories, create art projects, sing songs, dance, and
explore a multitude of materials in the classroom - and have fun while we’re doing it! KinderCasa’s students
are referred to us by Help Me Grow, Norwalk City Schools’ Preschool, and word of mouth. In the 2021-2022
school year we had 13 students, 5 of whom will enter kindergarten next year. We send them to kindergarten
with love and good wishes, confident in their success!

We are so very grateful to the Norwalk Catholic School Early Childhood Center for providing a classroom
for our program free of charge. It is a great benefit to be a part of a school environment, where the chil-
dren in our program interact with the English-speaking children of the Early Childhood Center while playing
on the playground, enjoying special school programs, and participating in other joint classroom activities.
 Our director and teacher is Mrs. Serena Bowles, a 1993 graduate of Bowling Green State University with
a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. She will be assisted by our new classroom aide, Mrs. Teresa
Roll and our family of 6 fabulous volunteers who are truly dedicated to the education of our preschoolers. In
addition, students with special needs receive speech services from North Point Educational Center, special
education services from Norwalk City Schools, and physical and occupational therapy from Fisher-Titus
Medical Center.
These outstanding people have given hours and hours of their patience, enthusiasm and love to our chil-
dren. From playing educational games to creating art projects, we are able to give the needed individual at-
tention to each of our students, which is vital to our students' development of language, social and other
kindergarten readiness skills. Words alone cannot express our gratitude for their care and dedication to our
preschoolers.

We are so very grateful to Huron County Transit for partnering with us to provide transportation for
our preschool. Although their costs have risen significantly, they have continued to work with us to keep our
cost affordable. Transportation is a barrier for most of our children; without busing they would not be able
to attend preschool. We are grateful to the Geotrac Foundation for substantially underwriting our transpor-
tation costs. Huron County Transit has been extremely accommodating with our needs, and their wonderful
drivers take such good care of our children!

KinderCasa has been blessed with a wonderful group of people who are truly dedicated to giving the op-
portunity of preschool to our area’s Spanish-speaking children. These individuals have the children’s best
interests at heart, and meet quarterly to oversee KinderCasa’s program. We welcomed a new board member
this year - Whitney Aquino-Price - who is passionate about our program and the community we serve. We
owe a debt of gratitude to Danita Conway, President; Sarah Blakeman, Secretary; Gail Reynolds, Treasurer;
Whitney Aquino-Price, Sue Lesch, Bob Sands, and Angie Smith for ensuring KinderCasa remains a quality
program.
We are more grateful than words can say to these wonderful people who have given to KinderCasa.
Whether it is money, time, or in-kind donations, it is all greatly appreciated:

KinderCasa Compañeros (Partners)

Anonymous
Ray & Marge Chapin
First Presbyterian Church, Norwalk
Geotrac Charitable Foundation
Huron County Community Foundation
Norwalk Area United Fund
Norwalk Catholic School
John & Sue Riley
St. Peter Lutheran Church Endowment Fund
Twenty-First Century Foundation

KinderCasa Amigos (Friends)

Anonymous Kay Kersey Sarah Simmons
Whitney Aquino-Price Mark & Stephanie Kluding Angie Smith
Sophia Baca Al & Sue Lesch Drs. Charles & Judith Sommers
Gary & Mary Bauer Nobil’s Sports & Trophies Norm & Tracey Sommers
Chip & Amy Battles Norwalk Eagles Aerie #711 Stuff the Bus
Sarah Blakeman Norwalk Kiwanis Pat Sturges
Robin Bleile Norwalk Lions Club, Inc. Team First Book—Huron County
Burton & Serena Bowles Norwalk United Methodist Women Skip & Patti Wilde
Lydia Bowles Alice Pleasnick Gary & Kathryn Wilkins
Chris Canfield, MD Reach Our Youth Women of the Spirit
Jim & Danita Conway Gail Reynolds DeEtte Zimmerman
Winnie Ely Diane Roll
Mitch & Debb Esch Teresa Roll
Jay & Paulette Ewell St. Paul Catholic Church In Memory Of
Lawrence & Kathleen Furlong Bob & Marsha Sands Doyal Cutnaw
Diane Hahler-Johnson Scott & Deb Scavuzzo
Phyllis Hanick Peggy Scheid In Honor Of
Edith Horton Michael & Chriss Schwieterman Francisco Carrillo
Marilyn Huston

July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022

Expenses: Income:
Classroom Materials $421.46 Donations $49,942.85
Snack $396.95 Cash Flow:
Student Supplies $827.34 6/30/2021 Balance $25,909.01
Office Expenses $2,175.21 Fiscal Year 21/22 Income $49,942.85
Professional Development $69.90 Fiscal Year 21/22 Expenses $45,883.44
Program Enhancements $2,496.43
Transportation $3,231.90 6/30/2022 Cash Balance $29,968.42
Payroll $36,264.25

July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 *2022-23 budget increase due to increased payroll and transportation costs.

Classroom Materials $1,000.00 Professional Development $1,000.00

Snack $1,200.00 Program Enhancements $2,500.00
Student Supplies $1,500.00 Transportation $7,000.00
Office Expenses $2,500.00 Payroll $38,000.00
Total $54,700.00