News from KLRN Education

KLRN’s Education Initiatives
Maricella Borroel
Director of Education

KLRN’s Education Department creatively engages and inspires lifelong learning as we present free high quality workshops, experiences, and as we deliver resources to the community.

The station continues to grow its early childhood programs for children birth to age five—reaching their families and formal caregivers. KLRN delivers community-based family strengthening services that prepare children to enter school ready to learn and prepared to succeed. KLRN believes there is power in sharing experiences, information, and ideas. When caregivers learn more about child development, they learn how to promote literacy and school readiness through every day activities.

In 2013, KLRN served over 2,150 adults and children at 260 enrichment activities. Enrichment activities, like Play & Learn, teach adults practical strategies to support children’s holistic development and explore the borderless classroom. As we build engaging experiences, adults learn more about their role as a teacher, advocate, and nutritionist resulting in stronger, healthier families.

As a partner in Education, KLRN is committed to strengthening the quality of childcare throughout San Antonio. The station delivers free professional development opportunities for formal caregivers via Training Through Television, Super Saturday Trainings, and Little Bites, Big Steps workshops. Since 2013, the station has awarded over 3000 training hours. KLRN engages caregivers, offers support, and encourages their professional development. Early childhood teachers return to their classrooms empowered and prepared to create stimulating, nurturing, and developmentally appropriate experiences for children in their care.

KLRN’s Healthy Kids Project supports healthy lifestyles by influencing eating decisions and physical activities as we share media resources and lesson plans with educators. As children’s dietary behaviors are formed early, it is important that they take ownership of their personal eating and fitness habits. In School Year 2013, Harlandale ISD and Edgewood ISD participated in the school based phase of Healthy Kids. To learn more, visit us here.

KLRN knows creative, interactive experiences engages students and inspires teachers. As school budgets are becoming leaner, many campuses are eliminating field trips. By delivering Dinosaur George- Museum in the Classroom on campus, KLRN cultivates a collective activity for students, faculty and families.

We thank you for taking the time to learn more about our educational initiatives. Being a part of the community has constantly motivated us to be more for you, to design and to deliver high quality experiences, and to continue searching for opportunities where we can all connect together. KLRN is committed to helping all children, their families, and their teachers thrive. We offer experiences because we believe every child is special and deserves a positive, supportive learning experience. I would invite you to reach out me so that I can share more information about our efforts.

News from KLRN Education

New Beginnings Bring New Experiences
Maricella Borroel
Director of Early Childhood Services


New beginnings don’t happen only with the New Year — they happen because of moments; moments of clarity and instances of questioning. Change happens whether or not a person is ready. It happens when it is needed. Change can be scary and powerful- we grow because we change. We change and we grow.

I’m a work in progress, as are KLRN’s Early Childhood Programs. I’ve had the opportunity the past four years to be part of a team who dream, develop, and deliver high quality experiences for children, their families, and caregivers. The blueprint for our services evolves as we consider what services families need, how we can best meet the need, and as we work to build dynamic opportunities and engage with our participants.

We enter this month continuing that legacy as we present Play & Learn Groups, Parent Workshops, Little Bites, Big Steps Workshops, and Community Cafés; it continues as we modify our delivery of services. Within our programs, we are continuously exploring new ways to assess school readiness, and to measure our effectiveness and impact. New, this year, we are utilizing tools, like the Ages & Stages Questionnaire, to measure children’s developing skills- are they more prepared for success in school and in life? Are the parents and caregivers more aware of developmental milestones? Are families engaging in developmentally appropriate activities? How successful are we? How are we tracking change? I’m encouraged by the commitment, the creativity, and the collaborative effort that each member of KLRN’s Team contributes to building experiences. Our team embraces the challenges and the opportunities. Our team is engaged, powerful, and ready for change- the change that is needed to help us get to the next level.

As a new day breaks, just as we do at KLRN, I encourage you to share resources with others and to engage in new experiences. I encourage you all to enter each day, looking for better, expecting more of yourself, and building opportunities. Be more today and even more the day after that. And if what you need doesn’t exist- create it and invite others to learn from you.