our programs
The Bay Area Hispano Institute for Advancement, Inc. (BAHIA, Inc.) is a private, nonprofit corporation that receives funding from the State Department of Education Child Development Division, City of Berkeley, Child Care Food Program and parent fees for services and foundation grants to provide early to school age care and education to children ages 2-10 years of age.
BAHIA, Inc. operates two childcare centers in Berkeley. The following are our esteemed and popular programs.
Full-time toddler and preschool program serving 64 children ages 2 to 5 years
After-school and summer program serving 65 children ages 5 to 10 years
Part-time bilingual care program for children ages 3-4 years old
(9:00AM- 12:00PM)
BAHIA provides through State and city funding subsidized and full-cost childcare at both facilities enabling parents to work and/or complete school or training programs.
All of our programs are designed to promote and enrich the child's self-image, enhance his/her feelings for cultural diversity and enrich the bilingual (Spanish/English) language development of all children in the program through our curriculum and activities of the classroom, site and as an organization.
Our toddler, preschool and pre-Kindergarten curriculum is play-based and designed to follow the California Preschool Learning Foundations.
The California Preschool Learning Foundation outlines key knowledge and skills that most children can achieve when provided with supportive bilingual interactions, and instruction and learning/growing environments shown to promote early learning and development. The Learning Foundations provide stakeholders---parents, educators and the public--- knowledge and skills that preschool to pre-kindergarten children typically need to be successful learners. These are the benefits provided by BAHIA’s high quality preschool programs.
BAHIA is committed to nurturing the child's cognitive, physical, language, and socio-emotional development. We follow state guidelines, our activities are age-appropriate and we focus on the child's developmental needs, particularly their interest in exploration, learning, and curiosity. We create and play in an environment that nurtures and supports the child, and we recognize the parents' role as primary teachers of their children.
All of BAHIA’s programs provide meals and snacks to children, encourage parent education/involvement, refer families to health and social services, and provide staff development opportunities to our employees.