By Kareema Bangura

For Milaun Brown, the search for a school for her daughter, Indigo, was complicated. 

Brown said the mother and Howard University faculty member had moved to D.C. from North Carolina in March of this year, just as the city’s school lottery systems were closing. 

After weeks of searching,  she finally found an education program that could enroll her daughter: The Howard University Early Learning Program.

“By me being employed here, it was first nature to just enroll her here,” said Brown.

Located on Howard’s main campus between College and Sixth Street, the HU Early Learning Program has served the Howard community by providing its staff and community members access to education for their children while being only a short distance away.

HUELP student points toward the hermit crab Habitat in the classroom. The HUELP program is open to the whole community, with enrollment priority given to Howard students and faculty. (Kareema Bangura/HU News Service)

“We do invite our students with small children to join our program,” said HUELP Assistant Director Jenay Wade. “Extended folks from the DMV area are also allowed to be part of the Bison family here.”

According to their site, the HUELP is open to the community, though priority is given to Howard employees and full-time university students. The program offers enrollment to all children between the ages of 2 and 6 years old. 

“It’s honestly a really great hidden gem that Howard has,” said HUELP student volunteer Jaida Hatcher. 

Hatcher began volunteering at HUELP in late January this year alongside other Howard students, offering support for teachers in the classrooms. 

Mr. Raymond engages students in exercise activities, such as shoulder rolls and somersaults. Children between the ages of 2 to 6 are eligible to enroll in the early learning program. (Kareema Bangura/HU News Service)

“We’re surrounded by higher education and students that can act as a model and mentor for them,” Program Director Dr. Tisha Lee said. “A lot of our students go to really prestigious programs when they leave our program.”

The nationally accredited education program includes a preschool, a kindergarten, and a summer camp. Its curriculum is geared toward helping students develop skills in their journey toward higher education. The current program has 34 families enrolled.  

“We do have smaller class sizes, and it’s more close-knit,” stated former volunteer and first-year instructional assistant Janai Wilson. “Children are getting more attention from us being readily available.”

The program’s closeness to Howard has allowed the children to explore and connect with the campus and its surrounding community. Recently, the students were granted the opportunity to attend Charter Day and sing with the Howard choir.

HUELP students practicing gardening skills on Howard’s campus. Close proximity to Howard’s allows ELP students to connect with the campus community. (Kareema Bangura/HU News Service)

“We are a quality care program. We make sure that we partner with parents and the community to enrich our curriculum,” Pre-K teacher Vanessa Gibson adds.

Additionally, parents and teachers work closely together to ensure the child’s development. 

According to the program’s assistant director, parent-teacher conferences are held three times a year. These conferences allow parents to see their child’s portfolio of what they have learned during their time in the program. Teachers also share assessments with parents to view their child’s development progress.

“You can see a lot of the parents and teachers are very interconnected. Everyone’s here to support each other,” Wilson said.

“[The children] leave with a self of identity, of knowing who they are, and [the] pride of just being on campus at an HBCU.”