A new San Diego preschool is creating father figures—and a hip-hop curriculum
Reading, writing, and rapping? A new preschool in Southeast San Diego will be adding elements of hip-hop culture like emceeing, dance, and graffiti art to its curriculum. The private school will also focus on providing male teachers—a rarity in the education sphere—as positive role models. Enter rappers Tim Council and Albert Arpon, the driving force behind Treehouse Academy Children’s Center.
“One in three children in the U.S. grows up in fatherless or father-figure-absent homes,” says Council, the academy’s CEO. “We also know there are fewer than 3 percent male teachers in early childhood education, and the numbers don’t go up by much in later years.”
At Treehouse, the minority will be the majority with its mostly-male staff. The private school aims to provide positive interactions for children who lack these experiences—a plus for parents, especially single mothers. Council says, “We want their children to leave our preschool being more confident in who they are and what they can do and achieve.”
Council and Arpon will be the two full-time teachers, with one or two part-time female aides and class sizes capped at about 24. Tuition rates will be $140 per week, with before- and after-school programs costing an additional $60 per week, but certain fees will be subsidized, and the co-founders hope to sponsor some families’ tuition for a year or two through grants.
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