“That’s Me. That’s My Story”   I ask Martha if she knows that many heroes are quiet heroes? I tell her she is a hero for being a better parent than her own.  I ask her if A Stepping Stone has helped with that? To my surprise (which I hope I shielded from her), she hesitates and I think…Continued

“That’s Me, That’s My Story.”   Martha’s boyfriend was physically and emotionally abusive.  For the first time in the interview, tears well up in her eyes and she dabs them quietly with a tissue. She did attempt to go back to school and attended Alhambra High for a short time.  She knew of a few…Continued

“That’s Me, That’s My Story.”   While her father did rescue her from her mother’s abuse, he was very consumed by work and was not a warm or caring person toward her or her sister.  Martha speaks of his frequent verbal abuse.  He would speak about his hopes that at least one daughter would go…Continued

“That’s Me, That’s My Story.”   Martha talks very quietly about leaving Veracruz for Nogales and staying there on the Mexico side for about three months until her father could arrange for her and her sister to cross.  When they arrived in Phoenix, she stayed out of school for a whole year waiting for her…Continued

“That’s Me. That’s My Story”   Every-other year or so, A Stepping Stone Foundation teachers show a video. It’s a story about journeying to the United States as an immigrant and seeking a better life.  At the end of the video this spring, Lead Teacher Fran Smith asked the parents if any of them had anything…Continued

Check this paper out delivered by East Coast Economist, James J. Heckman from the Department of Economics at The University of Chicago.  Although we know the current hype centers around President Obama’s  focus – it does not lessen the importance of the message. Read Now

One of the Stepping Stone Blog Categories is “True Stories”.  If you click on the link here, you will be directed to a list of ALL our blog-published True Stories over the past two years. Enjoy!!

Of course early childhood development is in the new…whether you wish to fund publicly or privately or all of the above, high quality programs are a great investment for any community.  See: Why Early Childhood?

Dear Readers, Please check out this new website and the video on its home page (scroll down a bit to find it).  Yet another clarion call for action to provide high quality resources for our youngest–which A Stepping Stone has been doing for the past 22 years!  Please watch, and let me know what you…Continued

I recently received a link to a new TED talk by PhD Economist, Dr. Timothy Bartik.  Thanks to former  Board President Judge Maurice Portley for sending the link to me. I had not yet seen this particular and powerful  argument for funding programs like ours.  Please click on the following link to watch this 16 minute…Continued