Small Steps Mission and History

Small Steps’ mission is to provide an exemplary early childhood program to instill and foster the social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual growth of economically at-risk children and their families.  Founded in 1995, Small Steps began as a grassroots effort serving just six children in a community park.  The need for a program like Small Steps was quickly realized and the number of children grew each year.  By 1999, Small Steps had raised enough funding to build a 6,000 square foot facility and expand the program to serve almost 60 inner city children.  As of 6/30/07, Small Steps has graduated 127 children to kindergarten or first grade, accumulated a waiting list of over 150 children, and formed partnerships with area magnet programs and exemplary elementary schools to ensure our students continue to receive meaningful educational opportunities.  In addition to these achievements, Small Steps has been recognized as one of Houston's outstanding preschools by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and been recognized as one of Houston's top charities by the Better Business Bureau’s Award for Excellence.  To meet the enormous demands for its services, Small Steps built a second school at <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">2902 Jensen Drive</st1:address></st1:Street>, in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Houston</st1:City></st1:place>’s Fifth Ward which opened in September 2006.