\u200b\u200bWhen Dove Gunderman or Prescott decided to restart her academic journey to become a speech therapist, her youngest daughter Juliette was 4 years old. The single mom of two knew that in order to be successful academically and at home, she would need to find high quality child care for Juliette.<\/p>\n
Once she toured the Del E Webb Family Enrichment Center at Yavapai College, Gunderman knew this would be a perfect environment for her daughter to grow, learn and thrive. The preschool is enrolled in First Things First\u2019s signature program, Quality First, which supports early care and education programs as they help prepare children for success in kindergarten and beyond.<\/p>\n
Gunderman didn\u2019t think she could afford to send her daughter there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI joked that we would have to live in a cardboard box if we had to, just so Juliette could attend,\u201d Gunderman said.<\/p>\n
Luckily, Gunderman qualified for First Things First Quality First Scholarship, which helps eligible families afford quality early care and education for their young children.<\/p>\n
Juliette soon enrolled and quickly excelled. Now in first grade, Juliette continues to soar.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was student of the week within the first month of school,\u201d Gunderman said.<\/p>\n
Juliette recently started reading more challenging chapter books. It\u2019s a love of reading that started in preschool.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey instilled her love of stories there,\u201d Gunderman said. \u201cShe\u2019ll ask what words mean if she\u2019s not familiar with them. The other day we were getting ready to leave and Juliette couldn\u2019t put her book down. \u2018I need to finish my book!\u2019 she said. I couldn\u2019t ask for more.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"