by Mary Knippel

James Salinero, a member of the CCP board of directors, and family. Photo credit: Mary Knippel

 
 
Integrity, imagination and inspiration combined with continuity, compassion and convenience are the dynamic attributes of Coastside Children’s Programs, a nonprofit agency that has served the children and parents of the Coastside for almost 30 years. CCP’s mission is straightforward: the agency “administers child care and development centers that provide quality educational, recreational and skill-building activities through a preschool, and before and after school programs, as well as full-time activities during the summer.” The extensive CCP summer programs take children around the Bay Area on learning adventures; the children also explore our own Coastside.

The CCP centers are open five days a week from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. CCP sites serving children in kindergarten through fifth grade are located at Alvin S. Hatch Elementary School, El Granada Elementary School and Farallone View Elementary School. CCP also runs a preschool for 2 ?- to 5-year-olds at a facility located at the Half Moon Bay Community United Methodist Church. (The school is unaffiliated with the church.) In spring 2009 a second preschool will open at Montara’s Farallone View Elementary School.
“Our programs concentrate on life skills,” said Bart Charlow, interim executive director of CCP, “and we work with children wherever they need assistance.” That might mean working on academic issues — or it could mean addressing behavioral issues, even including something like how to get along with siblings. “Our programs are deliberately on school sites because we work closely with the school staff and administration … it’s a real give-and-take atmosphere,” Charlow said.

 “We strive to make it a home-like atmosphere,” said Parvin Seaver, Farallone View site supervisor, when we met at the site of the new preschool in Montara, “and the children have a bond with the teachers.” “It’s a safe, nurturing place,” said Mary Brisebos, who has been a familiar face at CCP as a teacher for 11 years and is also assistant site supervisor at Farallone View.

“The Coastside is a very rural community and we don’t have a lot of amenities available to us,” said Charlow, “so this is something that is very attractive for parents. People look at the school district when they look for an area to move into. Not just the school itself, but how the community fits with their entire family. Parents can commute to wherever their job takes them, over the hill early in the morning until early evening, and they know that their children are well taken care of here. Having this program available for the child is valuable for everybody. With the program located right on the school site and available the entire year, it is a very special opportunity.”

“I really like working here because of the dedicated people,” said Diana Kalos, CCP curriculum director. “We help children feel really good about themselves.” In programs such as “Character Counts,” the children learn by action; the teachers model how to act, rather than just explaining what the appropriate behavior is in a situation. The end result is that the children learn what it means to take responsibility for their own behavior.

 “The snacks we serve the children are organic,” said Josephine Pritchard, CCP program director, “and we have a very involved weekly nutrition program called ‘Healthy Habits’ provided by a volunteer from AmeriCorps.” According to a study by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy released in October 2005, childhood obesity has increased nationally over the past 30 years. In 2004, one-quarter of the San Mateo’s public school students in grades five, seven and nine — approximately 5,250 children — were overweight. With “Healthy Habits,” CCP students not only talk about nutrition, but they may also do a hands-on cooking project, or an art project with the end result being a creative experience with food.
Charlow says the CCP is “affordable for everyone.” Subsidies are available and parents should contact the office for more information at 650-726-7413,           or visit the agency on the Web at www.coastsidechildren.org.