- Toddlers having snack!
Footsteps Child Care, Inc. (Formerly Cipriani After School Care, Inc.) was initiated, developed and today continues to be overseen by Executive Director Karen Haas-Foletta, a mother and education professional. The organization’s roots go back to 1994, when the Belmont-Redwood Shores School district decided it would re-open Cipriani Elementary School site after being closed for more than ten years. The school district wanted on-site child care and requested bids from different child care organizations that wanted to open and run the new site..
Karen, recognizing a need for affordable, quality child care in the area, bid on the site and opened a child care center that fall. She was running similar programs in San Francisco and modeled her new organization on the San Francisco programs with a parent/guardian board of directors. By running the site as a non-profit, the board was able to put their focus on the children, rather than the potential earnings.
In 1997, CASC, Inc. was awarded a grant from Work/Family Directions to create a summer camp for middle school youth. The Belmont-Redwood Shores School District agreed to house the camp at Ralston Middle School. The “Hands-On” Science and Adventure camp was funded for three years and, as a result, many of the parents asked that the program remain open year-round. The RAMS Program was developed and opened in 1999.
- Janette reading a story to the Puma Cubs Pre-Kindergartners in our garden
In 2000, parents from Central Middle School in San Carlos asked us to open a program. Club Central opened in September of 2000. The School District needed the classroom so the program was closed in June of 2010.
Nesbit Club Puma opened in 2001, after families requested a change in the on-site care located at the school.
In September of 2005, we opened an infant/toddler/Preschool at Nesbit School. The program is called Footsteps@Nesbit Puma Cubs. The program received a start-up grant from SmartKids through the Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County (4 C’s), First 5 San Mateo County, and the Human Services Agency of San Mateo County.
In September of 2008, we opened a morning pre-kindergarten program at the Cipriani Site for children ages 3-5. We also received funding through the San Mateo County Office of Education for a State Preschool program at both of our preschool locations. This funding allows up to 10 low income children to attend our morning preschool free of charge.
In August of 2010, we opened a school-age site at the new Redwood Shores Elementary School with a capacity of 70 children. The site is called Footsteps@Shores. We received a grant from Smart Kids administrated by the 4 C’s of San Mateo County for equipment and supplies for the Shores Site.
In August of 2010, we also opened an off-site program serving primarily first graders from Central Elementary School. The program is located at Barrett Community Center and is offered through the City of Belmont. The program serves 16 children and provides Spanish Enrichment.
In July of 2010, both the Footsteps@Cipriani and Footsteps@Nesbit were accredited by The Council on Accreditation (COA). COA’s commitment to maintaining the highest level of standards and quality improvement is designed to identify providers that have set high performance standards for themselves and have made a commitment to their constituents to deliver the highest quality services. COA is proud to recognize Footsteps@Cipriani and Footsteps@Nesbit as two of these outstanding providers.
Previously, as Cipriani After-School Care, we achieved accreditation 4 consecutivve times by the National School-Age Care Alliance, now called the National After-School Association (NAA) . NAA Accreditation symbolizes a commitment to quality school-age care. As one of the first school-age programs in the nation to be accredited, Cipriani After-School Care, Inc. (Now Footsteps Child Care, Inc.) is recognized nationally as a leader in quality care for children before and after school. Nesbit Club Puma received accreditation from NAA in 2006.
Footsteps Child Care, Inc. is a non-profit organization, governed by an Executive Board of Directors. The Executive Board of Directors establishes general policies and acts as a clearinghouse for concerns affecting the entire organization. Individuals are elected to the Board of Directors. The term alternates so new members are elected at the end of each school year. Additionally, parents and guardians volunteer to serve on Site Councils. The Site Council is an advisory committee supporting the daily operation at each of our five site locations.
• Karen Haas-Foletta — Executive Director/Board Member
• Carilee Chen — Vice President, Nesbit Puma Cubs
• Lisa Benner — Treasurer, Community Member
• Linda Klieman — Cipriani Site
• Dayna Dumas and Arlene Guerrero – Nesbit Site
• Su Saperstein and Debora Telleria – Shores Site
• Clarissa Naftzger – Barrett Site
• Julianna Rees-Community Member