Rosemount Center

Rosemount Center's mission is to prepare children and families for their future by providing comprehensive early childhood education and family support programs in a bilingual multicultural setting. Rosemount was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1972 when its chief benefactor, House of Mercy, converted its historic building and program to a comprehensive childcare and education facility for infants and young children of primarily low income families.

Rosemount offers dual language early childhood education for children ages 0-5 and family support services for their parents, including at-risk pregnant women. Rosemount serves 163 children in 17 classrooms at the Center's Mount Pleasant site in Ward 1 of the District of Columbia. Home-based services are provided to an additional 77 children and at-risk pregnant women in all Wards of the District. Nearly 90% of Rosemount's families live below or just above the poverty level and are enrolled in federally funded Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS) spaces or are subsidized through the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). Thirteen percent of our families pay full tuition and choose Rosemount because of its reputation as a community-based early childhood education provider committed to socio-economic and racial diversity in a dual language learning environment.

The majority of Rosemount's families (65%) are Latin American immigrants, many of whom are subject to the stresses of job insecurity, inadequate nutrition, as well as language and cultural barriers. Other families identify as Black/African (14%), White (17%), Asian (3%), and Multi-racial (1%). Rosemount makes an important contribution to the District by ensuring that young children—regardless of their economic or ethnic backgrounds—receive a stimulating environment in which to flourish.

The long-term goal of Rosemount Center is reflected in Rosemount's vision statement: “Children and Families Ready for the World."

Rosemount carries out its exempt purposes in the following ways:

1) Provides dual language early childhood education services using the research-based Creative Curriculum® to 240 children ages 0-5 – 163 children in 17 classrooms at the Center and 77 children and pregnant mothers through weekly home-based visits
2) Offers and coordinates a range of comprehensive services to families, including:
a. An education plan for each child
b. Quarterly progress reports
c. Weekly thematic lesson plans
d. Medical referrals
e. Mental health referrals
f. Referrals for bilingual community resources
g. Nutrition services
h. Social services
i. Developmental, hearing, vision, and dental screenings
j. Developmental disabilities inclusion program
k. Monthly parent trainings and family socializations
l. Collaborating on family partnership agreements and parent/teacher conferences
3) Includes parents in all Rosemount activities and ensures that parents set and work toward family-centered goals;
4) Provides a developmental disabilities inclusion program for at least 10% of enrolled children; and
5) Ensures 100 percent of children receive physical health exams, dental exams, and immunizations.

The timeframe for delivery of services is annually from September through August.

Rosemount relies on an experienced teaching staff to deliver its high quality programs; 28 of our 34 center-based teachers and all 7 of our home visitors have worked at Rosemount for over five years. Rosemount recognizes the value of investing in staff to minimize turnover and to maintain consistency in our early childhood education programs. In order to deliver a first-rate education to all of the children enrolled at Rosemount, we strive to retain the most qualified teachers. The Center requires each teacher to 1) accumulate at least 30 training hours annually, 2) maintain at the minimum - an individual Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials for District of Columbia licensing purposes, 3) implement the curriculum and provide weekly lesson plans, 4) conduct quarterly developmental assessments and individual child profiles, 5) understand and implement Head Start Performance Standards and accreditation requirements, and 6) provide parents with information on appropriate additional resources as needed. Rosemount's center-based classrooms use the Teaching Strategies Creative Curriculum® to provide a nurturing, stimulating, and safe environment for infants, toddlers, and preschool children. Teachers help children develop school readiness skills through weekly thematic lesson plans, games, songs, stories, arts and crafts, and special activities. Rosemount's home-based program sends home visitors to engage in weekly visits with pregnant mothers and parents of infants and toddlers to provide early childhood education and supportive services for parents.

One of the primary responsibilities of the Rosemount Center Board of Directors is to ensure Rosemount is meeting its requirements as established by its funding agencies, including, but not limited to Early Head Start. The 9 - member board ensures that Rosemount Center meets both legal and ethical standards for nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations. The board reviews and approves the budget annually and reviews financial information and reports from management each month. Board members provide financial support to the Center, attend fundraising events, and cultivate potential donors in their circle by introducing them to Rosemount's mission.

Rosemount maintains strong partnerships with community organizations that offer services to families in need of housing advice, legal services, special needs services, counseling, medical homes, crisis intervention, and other support services. Rosemount Center also has a robust volunteer program with approximately 53 volunteers per month donating 476 volunteer hours per month.

Since 1972, Rosemount has provided critical early childhood development programs for thousands of children, primarily from poor Latino families, who have benefited greatly from high quality early childhood education and family support services in a dual language, multicultural environment.

Rosemount is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) until 2024 and is recognized as a High Quality Center by the District of Columbia's Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).

Key findings from the MAARS (Monitoring and Assessing Rosemount Services) 2010 evaluation, made possible by major funding from the Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation, included: 1) Children who were not native English speakers scored near national averages on measures of cognitive skills related to kindergarten readiness, 2) Children were rated high on social skills, 3) Behavior problems such as introversion, inattention, and aggression were rated low, 4) Parents overall had very high scores on self-esteem and empowerment and reported doing many activities at home to support learning. The MAARS Assessment clearly suggests that Rosemount's program has both academic and social-emotional benefits for those children most in need in our community. The benefit to Rosemount's parents is also indicated, and we expect the parenting skills and self-esteem they gain at Rosemount will carry over into their experience once their children transition to kindergarten.