Our History
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Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center
Beatriz 鈥淏B鈥� Otero opened the Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center (later rebranded as 51萝莉) in the basement of a church in Columbia Heights, DC, to provide affordable childcare for 15 children. The center quickly became a greener pasture for immigrant families and families from the district鈥檚 historic Black community, providing resources and support to ease immigrants鈥� transitions and offer opportunities to all families.
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Programs Expand
Programs expanded to include before and after-school services, as well as educational programming for adults, to address growing community needs.
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New Building
Thanks to a generous donation by Verizon, Inc. (then Bell Atlantic Telephone Company), Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center moved into its primary campus at 1420 Columbia Road, NW. Enrollment grew to 100 preschoolers, youth, and parents.
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51萝莉's CDA program was established
51萝莉鈥檚 CDA program was designed through consultation with child development centers to collaboratively identify major challenges that educators face, such as understanding content related to brain development, atypical child development, and language acquisition; connecting child development theory to best educational practices, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse families; and much more. To respond to these challenges, 51萝莉 structured the program into 7 modules and enhanced it with extra coursework for a total of 130 instructional hours.
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Early Childhood Education Program
Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center launched its Early Childhood Education Program for infants and toddlers aged 0-3.
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DC Bilingual Public Charter School
Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center launched the DC Bilingual Public Charter School.
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A Rebranding
Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center rebrands as 51萝莉. Our name comes from a combination of Spanish, Swahili, and Esperanto. "Centro" means 鈥渃enter鈥� in Spanish, and "N铆a" means 鈥渙ur鈥� in Esperanto and 鈥減urpose鈥� in Swahili.
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A New Center in Maryland
As families are increasingly pushed out of the District due to the rising costs of living, we opened a new center in Takoma Park, Maryland, to serve the growing immigrant community in Montgomery County and Prince George鈥檚 County.
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Food & Wellness
Our Food & Wellness Program begins by preparing nutritious meals on-site, designed to support the optimal learning and development of young children.
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Early Head Start
We launched our Early Head Start program in Montgomery County, Maryland.
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First Lady Michelle Obama Visits
First Lady Michelle Obama launched her Let's Move! childcare campaign at 51萝莉's Columbia Rd. center, recognizing our Food & Wellness program as a national wellness leader for early learners and their families.
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A New Center in DC
We opened a new early childhood center on Upshur Street, serving infants and toddlers - housing our D.C. Early Head Start program.
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DC Bilingual PCS
DC Bilingual Public Charter School becomes an independent entity.
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A New Center in DC
In partnership with DC Public Schools, we opened a center at Cardozo Education Campus to provide education and support services to teenage parents enrolled at the high school.
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NiaCentral is Established
NiaCentral, a subsidiary of 51萝莉, was established to provide catering services to early childhood education centers and schools throughout D.C.
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CDA Gold Standard Training Certification
Our Child Development Associate (CDA) training program is one of only seven nationwide to receive the Council for Professional Recognition鈥檚 CDA Gold Standard Training Certification.
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Theatrical Journey Playbook
We published the Theatrical Journey Playbook: Introducing Science to Early Learners through Guided Pretend Play.
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Martha Gudelsky Child Development Center
Montgomery County approves a joint proposal from 51萝莉 and the Gudelsky Family Foundation for the redevelopment of the historic Silver Spring library on Colesville Road as the Martha Gudelsky Child Development Center.
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High-Quality Designations
Our Columbia Road and Upshur Street centers are awarded high-quality designations under Capital Quality, D.C.鈥檚 newly unveiled Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS).
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51萝莉's CDA program developed the nation鈥檚 first fully Amharic CDA course
51萝莉鈥檚 Amharic initiative was conceived due to a rising number of prospective or current educators whose educational backgrounds testified to their potential, but whose language proficiency precluded them from benefiting fully from 51萝莉鈥檚 intentional and comprehensive CDA training. The program then decided to pilot the nation鈥檚 first cohort in Amharic.
In 2021, in collaboration with the Council of Recognition, 51萝莉 produced an official Amharic-language credentialing exam.
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COVID-19 Response
In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, we dramatically ramped up community relief and temporarily adjusted our service delivery model to include distance learning and full-day extended care services for students enrolled at DC public schools.
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A New Center in DC
We partner with DC Public Schools (DCPS) to provide services for primarily high-risk infants and toddlers at the new Stevens Early Learning Center.
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Vice President Kamala Harris Visits
Vice President Kamala Harris visits 51萝莉's Columbia Rd. center to unveil several exciting elements of the American Rescue Plan that will support children and families as the nation works toward recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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51萝莉 at Bunker Hill Elementary Opens
In the first half of the year, we opened the doors at Bunker Hill Elementary for infants and toddlers!
Looking Forward
Our experience and success in the early childhood field over the past 35 years have positioned us to be effective advocates, thought leaders, and champions for quality outcomes in early childhood education. However, the social, health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to ask more of all of us. With the help of our partners and supporters, we are confident that we can meet the rising needs in our community!