What Aspen Center Has Meant to Our Families & Educators
The voices of families and educators reflect the trust, growth, and meaningful relationships built here over time.
"Our daughter started Aspen Center as an infant and is currently in the Older Toddler room. We have loved this school since the very beginning. The staff provide the children with age-appropriate enrichment activities to develop both Social-Emotional and academic needs. We love the Reggio Emilia influence of the programs as it addresses so many developmental needs in an engaging manner. Our daughter absolutely loves this school and all it has to offer. The staff are loving, caring and well-trained. We could not be more pleased. As a Kinder/1st grade teacher myself I am super happy that our daughter is getting the absolute best possible start to prepare her for kindergarten. We highly recommend Aspen Center for Child Development to anyone!"
"We have loved this school since the very beginning."
Mindy and Erik Leonhardt | Parents
"I did a 4-credit internship at the Aspen Center for Child Development, and words can't describe how amazing my experience was. I fell in love with the center the moment I walked in. You can tell that the teachers care deeply about the children and their education. I came in with some experience in child care and no experience with the Reggio Emilia approach. Through weekly meetings the director, assistant director, and mentor teachers gave presentations about Reggio topics like the image of the child, how to document, setting up provocations, and more that expanded my knowledge greatly. I felt empowered by the idea that teachers are co-learners in the classroom and are considered researchers. The people who work at the Aspen Center are so genuine and welcoming. I was so happy with my experience I decided to apply for a full-time position and am happily working as an older toddler teacher. Taking the internship led to so many opportunities to grow as a teacher and a human. It was such a great experience, and I cannot recommend being a part of the Aspen Center community enough!"
"I fell in love with the center the moment I walked in."
Anonymous | Intern
"Enrolling my daughter at Aspen Center has been a very positive experience for our family. Their child-led learning philosophy allows kids to explore, imagine, and interact with the world around them in a way that is empowering for each child. I'm constantly reminded at how capable of a person my daughter is from the activities I see her performing at school from the teacher summarized blogs and journals. Last and maybe most importantly, Aspen Center is helping to nurture and develop my daughter into a caring and empathetic person to herself and others."
"Aspen Center is helping to nurture and develop my daughter into a caring and empathetic person."
Donath Family | Parents
"From day one, the whole center was so welcoming and supportive, and I felt like everyone genuinely cared about our learning. I was guided through the Reggio way with so much intention, and every single day I learned something new; I’m still learning even now. What really stood out to me was the support from our mentors and the directors. They always made time for us and were there to answer questions, offer advice, or just check in. The weekly ACE meetings were so helpful too, they gave us space to connect, share our experiences, and learn from one another. It felt really good to know I wasn’t going through it alone. The end-of-semester project was one of my favorite parts. It gave us the chance to take the lead and bring our own “language” to life through the Reggio Emilia approach. Getting to design and run something hands-on with the kids made everything click for me. It made me fall in love with early childhood learning and sparked a passion for advocating for children and their voices."
"This internship honestly changed my perspective in the best way."
Leah | Colorado State University Intern
"We LOVE the Aspen Center! We tried out several other schools for our foster child, all of which were unable to fully attend to his needs. We are so lucky to have become a part of the Aspen center community and are blown away at the progress our child has made since starting at Aspen. We believe that all of our child's major milestones in potty training, speech, behavior, and socialization were made possible by the staff's knowledgeable and heartfelt work. We appreciate the incredible attention our child receives and the staff's deep commitment to his growth and development."
"We tried out several other schools for our foster child..."
Grossman Family | Parents
"Our son started in the Aspen Center's infant room in March 2022. We are first time parents and had lots of anxiety about leaving our first and only baby in the hands of people who were new to us. We didn't know what this journey might be, but Aspen has surpassed what we knew of early childhood education. Initially our comfort grew when teachers would share photos and let us know about interactions with our son each day. Our trust in the staff continued to grow when we talked more about developmental milestones and how we (staff and our family) can work together to give Everett the best support. Now we're at a point where we talk about social/emotional, cognitive, language, and physical development. Sometimes our sweet toddler is even excited to leave my husband and I when we get him to Aspen in the morning. We are better parents for being part of the Aspen Center community. Nothing - no book, video, or advice from other parents - could have prepared us for what this would be like or what we might want or need to know as we raise our son. Having Aspen Center working alongside us in the journey of parenthood means we are supported, knowledgeable, and loved."
"Aspen has surpassed what we knew of early childhood education."
Lindsay Neville | Parent
"Thank you so much for welcoming us into your work and allowing us to support you and your program. We are so honored you welcomed us into your program, especially during these amazingly difficult times. Our work in advocating for your needs is often inspired by what you teach me through our coaching relationship. I look forward to continuing to support you and your program this year."
"We at ECCBC (Early Childhood Council of Boulder County) feel so lucky to have had the chance to work with you and your staff!"
Tracy | Early Childhood Coach, Early Childhood Council of Boulder County, 2021
"Having my son at Aspen Center has been the best school he could be at. I have watched him become such a brighter student. He has surprised me with so much he has learned in his past few years there and I owe it all to the school and the curriculum that they enforced there. I feel he has become more social and become more problem solving as well as educationally more fluent with things, like the alphabet and counting. Aspen Center has helped my son develop into a great student. They also have helped my family out a ton. When my son had his open heart surgery, they were very caring and made my family feel supported. While he was out of school, they had many families from the community give Lincoln activities to do at school and they brought food, they were so helpful during this time for us. I am forever grateful that they went out of their way to help us feel supported. Another major thing they helped with at the time was the process or transitioning back into school. They were very helpful that they knew Lincoln's health the boundaries. It makes me feel so good as a parent to know he's in great hands at the Aspen center."
"I am forever grateful that they went out of their way to help us feel supported."
Chandler G. | Parent