Small Steps serves economically at-risk students and families who live in the areas surrounding our campus locations.
We currently have two campuses, located in the Fifth Ward and Gulfton communities.
Small Steps Nurturing Center’s accredited program provides a high-quality education, social and emotional support, a nurturing Christian environment, transportation, and nutritious meals to economically at-risk children ages two through six living in poverty in Houston, Texas.
The school maintains a high teacher to child ratio of approximately one to eight and utilizes the project approach to learning to integrate multidisciplinary curricula. Our teachers promote language development, science and math concepts, and critical thinking skills.
Small Steps uses a relationship- and language-based approach to early childhood education to address the social and emotional needs of children, which incorporates a trauma-informed approach into the classroom and minimizes student behavioral outbursts.
Small Steps utilizes SET for Life – a program created by Michelle M. Forrester, PhD, that addresses the social and emotional needs of children.
Small Steps provides our students breakfast, lunch, and a snack each school day. We also offer daily transportation in staff-driven vans for those children who otherwise could not get to school. Small Steps campuses have safe outdoor spaces for children to develop their motor and social skills and connect with nature.
Small Steps believes that we show God’s love by serving children in need and treating each person as a unique creation. Teachers daily demonstrate love to their students by fostering close relationships, and our volunteers show compassion by serving in our ministry.
We are grateful for many longtime Church partners that support the mission of Small Steps! Small Steps’ original DePelchin campus was founded in partnership with Impact Houston Church of Christ, and the expansion to our Gulfton campus came to fruition through a partnership with St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.
Small Steps offers a robust parent education program which educates and encourages parents to be involved in their children’s learning, well-being, and development. We serve as a support network to students and families in times of crisis and provide referrals for various community resources.
Small Steps aims to not just serve the student, but the family unit as a whole. To enroll at Small Steps, parents agree to complete at least 10 tuition hours (15 if more than one student) each year by attending parent education events and volunteering.
parent educationMarcus* joined Small Steps with significant behavioral challenges and spoke very little during his first year. While his parents were initially uncertain about how these challenges might affect his learning and development, our SET team worked closely with the family to identify support that would help Marcus thrive both in and out of the classroom. During his time at Small Steps, Marcus participated in speech therapy to strengthen his verbal communication skills, occupational therapy to develop his fine motor skills and independence, and playgroup therapy to build problem-solving abilities, self-advocacy skills, and positive peer relationships. As Marcus approached kindergarten eligibility, our social-emotional team recognized that he would benefit from more time in our program to strengthen both his academic and social-emotional skills. As a result, he returned to Small Steps for a “bridge year,” which provides students with an additional year of preparation before entering kindergarten. That extra year proved transformative. Today, Marcus scores at the top of his class in key kindergarten readiness metrics, including letter identification, letter-sound correspondence, and number naming. He has met all of his social-emotional goals and has blossomed into a kind, confident, and engaged learner. Marcus’s journey demonstrates how individualized support, therapeutic services, and strong family partnerships can help children overcome challenges and reach their full potential.
*Names changed to protect the privacy of our families.
We currently have two campuses, located in the Fifth Ward and Gulfton communities.
Small Steps has numerous ongoing collaborative partnerships with other nonprofits to accomplish our shared goals.
Our current collaborative partnerships include: