Director of new preschool speaks four languages
Carolina Diaz-Silva says she believes that learning a foreign language at an early age can give children a cognitive advantage in the future. Diaz-Silva is founder and director of International Schoolhouse, a Spanish-immersion preschool in Olivette. She started the school in August with 10 children and will be adding eight more in January.
Diaz-Silva, who speaks in English, Spanish, Italian and German, hails from Peru and moved to St. Louis 16 years ago. She spent her time teaching Spanish at MICDS in Ladue and also at Washington University.
In 2006, she received a master’s degree in Spanish Literature from Washington University and received an MBA from the university in May. She serves as an adjunct lecturer in the romance languages department of Washington University, teaching Spanish.
Diaz-Silva says she is trying to weather the economic challenges that come with her new venture and the competition from other preschools in the area.
Are the children enrolled in the program from different backgrounds?
We have a lot of diversity in our student body as well as our teachers. Out of 18 students, we have four Hispanic children, one Indian and one African-American.
What kind of economic challenges are you facing with the school?
I would say that I had a lot of interest in the school, because it is not a day care, it is only a preschool that has part-time hours.
But in today’s economy, preschool has become an option for a mother who stays home with her child. A lot of families are choosing not to make that expense. And that has an impact on the enrollment.
But I am happy that we are small and are able to gradually grow.
Has the performance of the school, so far, met your expectations?
I was naive no fax payday loan. I thought the school would fill up from the first day, because it is such a great idea.
It is also important to realize that I have to build trust with the parents. And that is exactly what we are doing right now.
We had an open house for children coming in January and we had the current parents be at the open house and talk to the prospective families. That made all the difference in the world. Because it wasn’t the director or the teacher selling what a great program we have, but the parents telling them how delighted they were with the program and how fantastic the teachers are.
Who are your competitors?
Preschool is very local. We did a lot of market research before starting the school and found out that families drive less than three miles for a preschool and a lot of families just walk.
There aren’t any Spanish-immersion preschools in our area, but there are a couple in St. Charles and Ballwin. My direct competition are other preschools in the area.
How do you publicize the school?
Most of our publicity comes from word-of-mouth. But we also do some advertising, like in St. Louis Kids Magazine, Ladue News, direct mailing, postcards.
We need to do more effective marketing. But I don’t believe marketing is going to get me more students. It is going to be my current families talking to their friends. Basically, I have 10 advocates, and I will have 18 in January.