Village Institute + Montessori on Wheels

The Village Institute offers a safe, nurturing place for refugee and immigrant families in Original Aurora. Nestled on the first floor is The Little Village, their joyful and loving early learning space for young children. They’ve taken an intentional pause this fall to consider how best to support their kids and families, and are coming back in January with an exciting new partnership with Montessori on Wheels. Little Village and Montessori on Wheels teachers are already hard at work preparing their new curriculum and classroom.

“The Montessori approach is going to be transformative for our Little Villagers,” says Ellie Adelman, Executive Director of Village Institute. “Our refugee and immigrant students are so bright and full of life, and they come to us with much higher needs than many of their US-born peers. We can't wait to bring The Little Village back better than ever, and provide the level of education and support our kids and families need to thrive."

To support this excellent partnership and bring the Little Village “back to school” in January, click here. Note that gifts to support The Little Village are eligible for the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.

Village Futures Teen Space

Staff and peer facilitators from The Village Institute's teen and young adult program - Village Futures - have also been hard at work renovating their new space for teen wellness programming and career classes. Thanks to generous support from the Colorado Health Foundation and Hope Worldwide, they are excited to open the space in December. The space will also be available to other organizations to rent for community programming, in the spirit of building an ecosystem of support for refugee and immigrant families.

Basmala Ahmad