A special group of 20 preschoolers and kindergartners recently welcomed summer vacation after graduating from the Texans Can Academies program, Wee Can Academy Ross Avenue. Wee Can Academy, Texans Can Academies’ Early Childhood Development Center, provides onsite education for children six weeks to four years old, along with after school care for children ages five to 12. In addition, Texans Can Academies also partners with early head start programs to offer infants and toddlers (six weeks - 2 ½ years) a learning environment to enhance children’s social skills and cognitive development.

“Our whole staff looks forward to seeing the young students walk across the stage in their mini caps and gowns each school year,” said Feleasha Nelson, Child Care Manager for Wee Can Academy Ross Avenue. “It is rewarding to see the look on each child’s face when they receive their first diploma and it is a memorable day for both the students and their families.”

Wee Can Academy was created by Texans Can Academies as part of the school’s commitment to education and removing barriers for their high school students. Wee Can Academy is available to high school students and offers affordable childcare while they attend their high school classes. Across the state of Texas, there are currently six Wee Can Academy centers located in Texans Can Academies’ campuses. Campuses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area include Carrollton/Farmers Branch, Ross Avenue in East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, Grant East in South Dallas and Fort Worth.

The mission of Wee Can Academy is to provide a nurturing and educational environment for children and to partner with and support the families that are a part of the school. Wee Can Academy provides programs designed to enrich the lives of infants, toddlers and grade school children through play, social and academic activities that offer experiences to stimulate the physical, emotional and cognitive growth of each child. 

The curriculum for students attending Wee Can Academy has been designed with fun in mind to emphasize school support, parent involvement and fun including field trips, sports activities and more. All children in the Wee Can Academy participate in the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment Basic (FIE Basic) program designed by Professor Reuven Feuerstein, the Founder and Chairman of the Feuerstein Institute. The program teaches children how to think and how to reason through particularly designed instruments and mediation. FIE Basic tasks are intended to be readily transferable to all educational and everyday life situations. Not only do the methods teach vitally important cognitive strategies - such as how to gather information, strategize, compare and problem solve - they also teach children cognition behind emotions. All literacy programming includes Marquez Reading methods, and students are provided a 30-minute homework period Monday through Thursday.

Every Wee Can Academy campus provides affordable childcare for the community and to Texans Can Academies students that are raising children. The childcare option is a great resource for students who are also parents because it gives them an opportunity to go to school to earn their high school diploma knowing that their child is nearby for them to visit.