Yvette Sanchez-Fuentes, Director of Office of Head Start, to Visit Acelero Learning in Perth Amboy to Visit with Families and Staff Affected by Hurricane Sandy

PERTH AMBOY, N.J., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Acelero Learning is delighted to announce that Yvette Sanchez-Fuentes, the Director of the Office of Head Start, will visit with the staff and families of Acelero Learning Monmouth/Middlesex County, Inc. at their Perth Amboy Center on Wednesday, November 14th at 3:30 pm. The Head Start and Early Head Start center, located at 132 Second Street, Perth Amboy, NJ, was recently renovated and now serves over 166 low-income children ages zero to five, including infants and toddlers, from Perth Amboy and the surrounding area. 

"We are so pleased to have this opportunity for Director Sanchez-Fuentes to meet with our staff and families," said Aaron Lieberman, CEO of Acelero Learning. "The last few weeks have been extremely difficult – but our Head Start program has been a beacon of hope and support for many of our employees and the children and families we serve." Acelero Learning has raised over $20,000 through the Acelero Learning Charitable Foundation (www.acelero.org) to help support families and staff who lost their homes by providing immediate cash assistance.   

Acelero Learning Monmouth/Middlesex County, Inc. operates 12 centers serving over 1,100 low-income children between birth and five years old across both counties. All 12 centers lost power in the days after the storm, but the Perth Amboy Center was the first one to get power back on Thursday of that same week. Just four days after Sandy came ashore, Acelero Learning re-opened the center as a day shelter for Head Start families in dire need.

"Over 70 families came through our doors in Perth Amboy, with a variety of immediate needs. Families were able to pick up donated water, food, clothing, diapers, and charge their electronic devices, while most importantly having a warm, safe place where their children could play," said Victor Ortiz, Executive Director of Acelero Learning Monmouth/Middlesex County, Inc. "To make this all happen within just four days of the storm was simply an amazing testament to the strength and dedication of our staff and families."

About Acelero Learning

Acelero Learning was founded in 2001 by a former Head Start teacher, Aaron Lieberman, and former Children's Defense Fund staffer, Henry Wilde. The company has a very clear mission: to bring a relentless focus on positive child and family outcomes to close the achievement gap and build a better future for children, families, and communities served by the Head Start program.

Today, Acelero Learning is a Head Start grantee serving nearly 4,000 young children and families through delegates located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Camden, Monmouth and Middlesex Counties in New Jersey and Clark County, Nevada. In every instance, Acelero Learning delegates have made substantial and sustained quality improvements in their communities -- increasing enrollment, improving teacher salaries and qualifications, and dramatically expanding the number of hours of programming for children and families served by Head Start. Acelero Learning's most recent evaluation report, conducted by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers, shows that children enrolled in Acelero Learning's Head Start programs make gains in math and vocabulary at twice the rate of children in the average Head Start program based on available data from the Head Start Impact Study. To learn more, visit www.acelero.net.

Event Details:
Visit from Office of Head Start Director Yvette Sanchez-Fuentes
Wednesday, November 14^th, 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Acelero Learning Monmouth/Middlesex County, Inc.
132 Second Street
Perth Amboy, NJ 08861

SOURCE Acelero Learning