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February 2010 E-Newsletter

Increasing Vitality in the Dense Vickery Meadow Community


Greeting from Executive Director



Dear Friend,

Did you know that a child’s sense of security affects his or her readiness to learn?

Researchers are reminding us again that the parent-child relationship plays a pivotal role in children’s learning. But it’s not just that parents need to spend time interacting with their child and reading with them; they also need to pay attention to the child’s sense of security. Parents who attend to their child’s emotional cues can make them feel more secure and in turn help them prepare for school.

Dr. Cynthia A. Frosch, a Visiting Scholar at the University of Texas at Dallas, explains: “Secure parent-child relationships support more positive relationships with peers and teachers, greater self-control and emotion regulation, fewer problem behaviors, and a greater readiness for school and higher achievement. Secure attachments make a difference in the social, emotional, and intellectual lives of children” (see the full article, “Creating Connections,” in the March 2009 issue of TAIMH News, pp. 4-5).

The Texas Association for Infant Mental Health Target="blank" (TAIMH) is helping to raise awareness about parent-child attachment, and they’re also partnering with Avance-Dallas to make sure our parents and Early Childhood Teachers are sensitive to children’s sense of security. When you join with Avance-Dallas, you can know we’re intentionally watching out for children’s holistic development!

Lisa Oglesby Rocha
Executive Director


New AVANCE-Dallas Website Launches!







During the weekend of January 15–17, We Are Microsoft hosted a “Charity Challenge Weekend” to create or update websites in three days for twenty North Texas nonprofits. AVANCE-Dallas was one of those nonprofits.

Thanks to a crew of volunteer developers from Sogeti (see picture), Avance-Dallas now has a new, updated Internet presence that will help us communicate with old friends and new. Please check out our website at www.avance-dallas.org.

A big thanks goes to the We Are Microsoft team members who organized the weekend and made the whole event possible. And a big thanks also goes to the individual developers who devoted their weekend time and creative juices to putting together a brand new site for Avance-Dallas. 


Vickery Meadow Team Revitalizes Families





The Vickery Meadow neighborhood is the densest community in Dallas, packed with low-income families from around the world. Our Vickery Meadow team delivers the Avance-Dallas difference to families with young children, nurturing a spirit of enthusiasm and hope. The Vickery Meadow team follows their own unique motto: “united as a team—in the name of our children, for our future.” 

Magalli, pictured far left, serves as the Toy-Making Instructor and Home Visitor. A previous book club volunteer at Jack Lowe Sr. Elementary, Magalli joined the Vickery Meadow team this year and has thrived through this opportunity to use her creativity in advancing children and parents together. 

Moving left to right in the picture, Martha serves as one of our three Early Childhood Teachers, all of whom have earned their Child Development Associates certificate. Martha worked for another children’s program two years prior to Avance and was eager to work with children directly. She brings a motherly instinct to the team, is always kindhearted and prudent, and is an excellent teacher and loving teammate. 

Maria, the Vickery Meadow Lead Teacher, has worked with children since 1987 and has served at Avance for over seven years. She is passionate about her role as Lead Teacher, which she assumed two years ago. In November 2009, her early childhood classroom was certified Texas School Ready™ by the Children’s Learning Institute from the University of Texas. Her team describes her as a good-natured, uniquely creative, sociable, and comprehensible Lead Teacher. 

Bertha, an Early Childhood Teacher, graduated from the Avance-Dallas Parent Education Program in 2006 and from the Avance GED class in 2007. She is an attentive, focused, and effective teacher for children. Bertha works with what she’s given and applies what she has learned.  

Erika is also an Avance-Dallas graduate from 2008 and serves as an Early Childhood Teacher. She provides a keen sense of humor for the team even in challenging moments. She is extremely creative, always friendly, and has a contagious smile. Erika has accomplished several computer and recreational college classes in her free time, and she is always there to help out with computer-based documents and creative ideas and activities. 

Liana, who has a degree in psychology, leads the team as the Parent Educator. She served on the Vickery Meadow team last year as the Toy-Making Instructor, which gave her a heart for the neighborhood and prepared her practically to lead her team of teachers this year. Liana demonstrates great leadership and professionalism in all she does, and models being a friendly, trustworthy, and compassionate teacher. Her team describes her as very respectful and an excellent problem solver. 

This diverse array of teachers forms our Vickery Meadow team. Together, they are strengthening the vitality of low-income, high-risk families with young children in Vickery Meadow. 

Monica Discovers a Better Path





When Monica began the Avance-Dallas program at Jack Lowe Elementary in Vickery Meadow in October, Parent Educator Liana noticed she was different from the other participants. She tended to separate herself and didn’t take care of her appearance. Her face reflected a deep, unknown sorrow.

Also, her two youngest children, Pascual (age 2) and Guadalupe (age 1), arrived at Avance unwashed and without any snack. They were inattentive in class and aggressive with the other children. Nonetheless, Monica and her children attended classes every Thursday.

Recently Monica opened up and shared her story. When the parenting class was discussing the topic, “Satisfying Emotional Needs,” Monica seemed inspired to tell how difficult it had been emotionally for her to stay steady on her feet.

Previous to enrolling in Avance-Dallas, Monica said she had been diagnosed by a specialist as suffering from depression. She couldn’t find a purpose in life. That specialist recommended she come to Avance.

Monica explained that she lives alone, paycheck to paycheck, and without any assistance or emotional support. Because she doesn’t have much money, neither her personal appearance nor that of her children mattered to her.

After her disclosure, Monica got to her feet, approached the Parent Educator, and gave her a big hug. She expressed her appreciation to Avance for helping her see life from another perspective. The parenting classes, she said, had helped her forge ahead, fight for what she wants in life, and more importantly, value her three children.

Now, Monica takes her children regularly to the public library; reads to them; and makes time to play with them. Her children have achieved significant gains in their cognitive development; they now know their colors, number, and shapes. Monica has also transformed her own image and is now happy to be herself.

“Avance has changed my life for the better,” Monica explains. “I’m very grateful to the teachers who have always received me into their classes with sincere caring and affection. They have shown me respect and have accepted me as I am. Now, I am sure I can be successful in my life and dedicate myself completely in mind, heart, and spirit to my family.”

Partner Spotlight: Ronald McDonald House Charities





For the fourth year in a row, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater North Texas has partnered with Avance-Dallas to advance the development of low-income children in Dallas.

In January 2010, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater North Texas awarded Avance-Dallas a $5,000 grant. Their contribution provides the essential early childhood supplies that stimulate at-risk Hispanic children in our program early on, preparing them to start school on target for success.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities were originally established in memory of McDonald’s founder, Ray A. Kroc, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater North Texas’ mission is “to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children.” The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater North Texas provides support to its cornerstone program, Ronald McDonald House, and also provides grants to nonprofit organizations whose programs help children reach their fullest potential.

Here at Avance-Dallas, we’re thankful for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater North Texas’ investment in our children. Together, we’re helping at-risk children get on a path toward lifelong achievement.