At Wonderspring, our mission is to develop, provide and advocate for high quality early childhood education, school age programs, and related services in support of all children and families.
Elected officials, community partners and education advocates joined Wonderspring at a festive ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of New Market West, its brand-new early childhood education center in West Philadelphia.
Serving up to 123 children and creating 30 jobs
According to Wonderspring CEO, Zakiyyah Boone, Wonderspring New Market West will serve up to 123 infants through school-age children and will create 30 jobs. The new center will provide high-quality, evidence-based programming that meets the state’s Early Learning Standards by focusing on the intellectual, developmental, social, emotional, and relational aspects of the whole child.
“This center has been a long time in the making, but we have poured so much love and passion into this project and we couldn’t be more thrilled to open our doors to the children and families of West Philadelphia,” said Boone.
Bringing resources to families
The new center is located in the New Market West neighborhood transformation development, which is bringing high-quality early childhood education, primary health care, support for previously homeless single-parent families, behavioral health services, and community-serving retail to a transit-accessible location together with affordable rental housing to the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia.
“We recognize the importance of ensuring that families have the resources they need to thrive. The fact that New Market West is a neighborhood transformation initiative aimed at improving the quality of life for the community was a key driver in our decision to open a center here,” said Boone.
Philadelphia City Councilman, Curtis Jones, noted that “New Market West represents the transformation of land that was once an abandoned gas station to a high-quality education center for our children. But this is even more than an educational center,” he said. “It is an economic development project, because without reliable childcare, parents cannot return to work.”
Sean Perkins, Chief of Early Childhood Education for the City of Philadelphia spoke to the importance of high-quality childcare. “This is where deductive reasoning, executive function, negotiation skills, literacy and empathy begins,” he said.
Wonderspring is currently enrolling children at the new center. Click the button below to complete an application.
Wonderspring Early Education, a nationally recognized nonprofit provider of high-quality, safe, convenient, and affordable early childhood education throughout Greater Philadelphia, is pre-enrolling at its newest high-quality early childhood education center at 59th and Market Streets in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia. What’s more, we’re offering discounts to all families who pre-enroll.
The center is located in the neighborhood transformation development called New Market West, which also features primary health care, support for previously homeless single-parent families, behavioral health services, and retail.
Serving infants through school-age children, the new center will provide high-quality, evidence-based programming that meets the state’s Early Learning Standards by focusing on the intellectual, developmental, social, emotional, and relational aspects of the whole child. Among the highlights of the new center is a beautiful outdoor learning space outfitted with playthings that ignite imagination and promote open-ended play and learning.
“Wonderspring is committed to increasing access to high-quality care for all children and we’re thrilled to be opening a gorgeous, brand new, high-quality center in this neighborhood,” says Wonderspring CEO, Zakiyyah Boone. “Our focus is on sparking the creativity and wonder in children and Wonderspring New Market West offers the perfect environment for children to tap into their natural curiosity and develop a lifelong love of learning.”
Want to learn more? Call our fabulous center director Cherrelle Shaw at 215-798-9961 and schedule a safe, socially distant tour or request more information here.
Tour Wonderspring’s brand new center at New Market West at a safe, socially distant Open House event. The events, featuring tours of the beautiful facility, light refreshments and giveaways, will offer an opportunity to learn about our high-quality programs and our Early Bird Discounts.
New Market West is located at 5901 Market Street, Suite 101 in Philadelphia (enter on 59th St.)
Dates and times for the events are:
Tuesday, January 19th, 7am-1pm Wednesday, January 20th, noon-6pm Thursday, January 21st, 8am-noon
Conveniently located directly adjacent to a public transportation hub, New Market West will serve infants through school age. And, as you’ve come to expect from all our centers, it will provide high-quality, evidence-based programming that meets the state’s Early Learning Standards by focusing on the intellectual, developmental, social, emotional, and relational aspects of the whole child.
The new site also features a beautiful outdoor learning space that will offer children many opportunities for exploration and connecting with nature. As with all our centers, the New Market West site will accept ELRC subsidy.
For more information about New Market West go here.
Just imagine… you have just become a parent. Just six weeks ago,equivalent to the time that it typically takes to process a passport, you didn’t have that title of parent. Of guardian, of a person that must watch over and care for another human’s life. In the length of time that it takes for you to receive your passport you must say goodbye to your child, your infant. For six weeks the only sustenance your child needed came from you and now… you are standing in a line, six feet behind the family in front of you. Waiting for a stranger, with their body covered in a mask, shield, gloves, and smock, to take your child’s temperature in order to determine if your child has been infected…. The staff member greets you as warmly as one can while under all the PPE and directs you through processes of drop-off. Such a foreign concept to a new family. The PPE person assures you that your child is in good hands and then. That’s it. Your baby is gone. You don’t know how many steps it will take for the person to arrive at your child’s classroom. You don’t know how the teachers greet your child or even if they do. You don’t see how your child reacts to a new environment, people, children, food or surroundings. There is limited opportunity to build a connection with the people beyond the front doors of a center that cares for your child. Connections are lost. Communication is, virtual, remote. Touch is forbidden. Participation and family engagement is a potential hazard. We are providing care and education for your child. However, we cannot properly care for the guardian who turns their back every day to a person in PPE to wipe tears from their eyes. We cannot slow the heartbeat of a guardian who fears for their child’s safety and wellbeing. They must do this now on their own. They are their own support.
As providers we cope in many different ways to stave off the fear that comes when we awake in the morning. To push away the question “Is today the day I get infected”? We cry, but cannot embrace our fellow employees as we hear of another death, another in the hospital, another loved one in quarantine.
But, when we enter the classroom we are not only your child’s teacher. We are the loving touch a mother would give to a concerned child. We are the silly songs to distract from a difficult guardian departure. We are the person that pretends to call Mommy for the 30th time to make sure she’s coming back to pick up at 3:30pm. We are the photographers for missed birthday celebrations, missed milestones, and ‘you did it’ moments. We continue to serve as we said we would. To list A challenge during a pandemic is impossible. As childcare providers we challenge ourselves to tackle everything that comes our way, each and every day.
Our challenges are all of those missed connections.
December 1, Narberth PA—Wonderspring Early Education, a nonprofit provider of high-quality, safe, convenient, and affordable early childhood education throughout Greater Philadelphia, is pleased to welcome Charles Bragitikos and Rafael Sonder to its Board of Directors.
Bragitikos is a principal and co-founder of Vibrant Development Group and Vibrant Ventures. At Vibrant Development Group, where he works with gaming companies, developers, professional sports teams, and the public sector on conceiving and developing large-scale, mixed-use destination projects. Through Vibrant Ventures, he creates and invests in select dining and entertainment concepts. In addition to serving on Wonderspring’s board, Bragitikos sits on the Board of Directors of Cooper’s Ferry Partnership and serves as clerk of the finance committee at Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Bragitikos says he was inspired to join Wonderspring’s board because of the positive impact it has on children. “Wonderspring checked all the boxes for me,” he says. “They have a heart-felt mission that resonated with me, a passionate and driven CEO, and a terrific set of committed Board members. I am excited and honored to join this incredible group.”
Sonder has 20 years of experience working in Finance, Strategy and Management. Currently, he serves as CFO of WatchBox, a global luxury-goods e-commerce company based in Bala Cynwyd, PA. Previously, for 15 years, he held various positions working for one of Latin America’s largest private equity asset managers,Tarpon Ivestimentos. Sonder holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
“Education has always been a passion for me for the way it can change a person’s life,” says Sonder. “I am inspired by the Wonderspring’s mission and the energy of its staff. The Management team and the Board take their responsibility to the children and the families very seriously. It is a privilege for me to contribute my personal and professional experiences to help advance their mission.”.
Wonderspring operates in nine locations throughout the region and will open a brand-new early learning center, New Market West, at 59th and Market streets in Philadelphia in 2021. In addition to its early education centers, Wonderspring offers school-age programs to ensure children receive educational experiences and care before and after the school day as well as homework assistance and care for virtual learners. The organization’s summer camp for children entering Kindergarten through 6th grade offers weekly themed sessions that provide opportunities for fun, exploration and learning throughout the summer. For more information, visit wonderspring.org.
