Preschool Teacher Trainings
Community preschools exist in León for four- and five-year-old children whose parents cannot afford to send them to a formal preschool. In an effort to create a solid foundation for the children of León, PML offers approximately six training sessions per year to the city's 150 pre-school teachers.
Half of the capacitations are conducted by a psychologist, picked by PML, and the other half are directed by representatives from the Ministry of Education and cover a wide range of material. Recent themes have included Infant Psychology, Human Relations, and Classroom Prep, among others.
While some preschools are conducted out of the teacher's own houses or makeshift locations, these sessions ensure a certain level of professionalism and aim to provide classroom structure to children who would otherwise be unattended, possibly in the streets while their mothers or parents work.
These teachers are considered volunteers because, although they receive a stipend, it is only US$12 per month. PML provides these teachers with monthly trainings that serve to keep the teachers informed and motivated in their work.
The teachers themselves are elected by their community and often come into the teaching world with little or no experience. They come from varied educational backgrounds, so these trainings give them the tools they otherwise would not have access to. The trainings also help mitigate the high turnover rate that these community preschools experience. The teachers are networked through Movimiento Comunal, a community-based organization whose objective is to create grassroots support networks in the communities between community preschool teachers, health brigade workers, midwives, community leaders, and parents. PML is strengthening Leon's neighborhoods and nearby rural communities by supporting community preschool teachers.