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February 9, 2001
"From Crack House to School"
In this first installment of Leadership Talks, Lereen Castellano, Executive Director of Family Star in Denver, Colorado, discussed how a Latino neighborhood came together to rid its neighborhood of a crack house, and transform it into an early childhood education center. Milwaukee, WI
What were some of the challenges Family Star faced early on?
Lereen Castellano
Some of the challenges that Family Star encountered included when a core funder changed their focus and giving plan. This led to discontinued funding for Family Star operations. At times key staff were not on payroll yet continued to volunteer their time to keep this dream alive. We also recruited families from outside the neighborhood who were able to pay, creating an economic model that could barely sustain us.
Another major challenge was when an umbrella organization assessed that Family Star’s compensation for classroom staff was above the standard salaries for child care employees. This prohibited other funders to support us. Consequently, for three years there was minimal support outside of tuition payments. We held to our guiding principles refusing to perpetuate women in poverty, especially women with the skills and expertise to work with children 0-3. Family Star set the new standard for higher wages in the childcare industry in the Denver area.
Oakland, CA
How did you get the support of the community to help you move the crack house to the childhood education center. Did the police remove folks form the house and then turn it over to you?
Lereen Castellano
What happened is our presence was known in that building by pretty much everyone in the neighborhood and so we painted the outside of the building and we painted windows. It was symbolic, so that we would take away from the darkness and the gloominess and make the building look a little more presentable.
There were times when we interacted with the previous tenants, and we let them know what we were up to, that they could no longer use that building as a shooting gallery, because we were not going to tolerate it anymore.
Riverton, WY and Santa Fe, TN
When you closed the crack house that became your school, did it have an effect on other crack houses in the neighborhood -- that is, did overall drug availability change or did it just move down the street?
Lereen Castellano
It actually began to move further away from that neighborhood, but did not totally dissolve.
Queens, New York
How did Family Star survive the transition from fighting against the crack house to working to build the children's education center?
Lereen Castellano
First of all, we launched a Vision Quest to get buy-in from the community regarding that shift. And through that process, it was actually the attendees who made that decision. So, when you have that kind of buy-in, the transition is not easy, but it's less challenging.
Because it has to come from the community. It has to come from their direction and their buy-in. It has to be what they want. You have to come from that place first.
Spokane, WA
When you consider how this great tranformation succeeded, there must have been certainly times when the participants were unclear or perhaps disagreed as to the goal or goals. How did you remain cooperative? How do you get around splitting and power issues?
Lereen Castellano
It was easy, because there was always someone to remind us to keep our eye on the prize, that this was not about ego and about one person's ideas or contributions.
Ebensburg, PA.
Not really a question...just a congratulations for all of the hard work!
Lereen Castellano
Thank you with all my heart for the congratulations and I appreciate you logging on.
New York City
Did you form a coalition to get the initial center created? Assuming you did, how has that coalition changed during the years you have worked together? What do you do to sustain these relationships?
Lereen Castellano
The faces have changed, but the spirit remains. All those infected with this understanding of what we were up to, it was easy to sustain. Because it was a personal goal by many of the people who were part of that coalition to change the world.
Although that was very lofty, it was actually what attracted people to us -- like minds, how do you change the world? And we gave them an opportunity and an avenue.
Massapequa, Long Island, NY
Do you find that it is harder to keep the project going after the initial enthusiasm that came with your early success has faded?
Lereen Castellano
In every evolutionary process that establishes nonprofits, that's a natural part of the process. But what's interesting is that every time Family Star has a challenge, it almost revitalizes or reignites the community to take action.
Lima, Peru
How did you handle neighborhood opposition, if any? Was there any resistance to the idea among community residents? If so, how was this overcome?
Lereen Castellano
Considering neighborhood residents made the decision to transform the building, we didn't experience much opposition. Our fights were limited to finding the dollars, becoming knowledegeable about creating a nonprofit. We focused on other areas that were more challenging. We didn't have opposition.
Lucerne Valley, CA
Did you find that it was easier to approach funding sources with a house in mind and a plan in the works or with just an idea in mind?
Lereen Castellano
We did not approach the funding community until we had a plan. And we developed our plan in a very sophisticated manner and it was very concrete.
Oakland CA
Did the blocks around Mitchell Elementary begin to change as a result of closing the crack house and creating Family Star? Or did they remain isolated in an otherwise abandoned area?
Lereen Castellano
It was obvious that we were in the midst of true revitalization. Because, as a result of Family Star's presence, residents began to push the envelope in wanting the abandoned buildings surrounding Family Star, getting the city to address these abandoned buildings.
So they went to their city council person and required attention, and they wanted those buildings to be used. And, to date, all of those buildings are now renovated and are being used as affordable housing units for new residents.
Franklin, MI
What are your plans to transition from this phase to next? If you could have anything you wanted for your program at the end of three years, say, what would your wish be?
Lereen Castellano
That's easy. First of all, develop an economic model to become more self-sufficient. We would also provide these services to not just eligible families through early Head Start, but draw families also who can afford to pay. This model works best when it's integrated socioeconomically and also culturally.
The most exciting is that Family Star is posturing itself to become a training center. That is our ultimate goal.
Clearwater, Florida
What resources, other than money, do you draw upon to sustain your work. Are there volunteers, do you encourage in-kind contributions, are there others in the community working on other problems who join with you around particular concerns? How do you go about encouraging any or all of these - and what else would you add?
Lereen Castellano
Family Star attracts many great hearts in the larger community. And our parents are our best volunteers.
There is a coalition of organizations in Northwest Denver that want to provide Montessori education. And Family Star is being the mentor in that situation.
Our parents and our volunteers provide us with in-kind donations all the time. It ranges from children's clothes to once someone tried to give us stocks and bonds.
Minnetonka, MN
How many years have you been involved with this project, and how long have you been a non-profit?
Lereen Castellano
Since its inception in 1988, I have been involved. But Family Star actually received their 501(c)(3) status in 1989. I started off as a parent. I was involved in this new initiative as a parent, and I think that's very important.
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
It is definitely a hard work to do - its great that you all were there to make this to happen. It had established an example to many of other cities. Great job and keep it up!
Lereen Castellano
Thank you so much. That kind of encouragement is very important to us. And I thank you.
Des Moines, IA
Congratulations on such an amazing effort, especially the work with wages of caregivers.
Given the push towards outcomes-based funding, what kind of outcomes have you been able to demonstrate with the population of children you serve?
Lereen Castellano
This is a great question. We wanted to impact student achievement amongst a group of children who were not achieving in the Denver public school -- in particular, their reading skills.
Let me share with you the student achievement at that time. Only 16 percent of the third-graders in that community, and this holds true to this date, were reading at a proficient level.
Family Star's graduates at 4 and 5, are reading before they leave us.
So, in terms of outcomes, you're looking at an important issue in a community, and Family Star can say that our children leave with a skill that they need most in that neighborhood -- they know how to read.
Minneapolis, MN
While we understand that funding is always an issue, what other challenges do you see in the future and how will you address them?
Lereen Castellano
Family Star has not been able to attract corporate or individual donors at a level we're comfortable with.
Actually, there are some other challenges regarding the work force in Denver. It's always a challenge to find and identify teachers, especially bilingual teachers, because we have a dual-language model. So, many times we have to grow our own.
And we're looking for someone who is Montessori trained and who is bilingual and who wants to be a teacher.
St. Paul, MN
Neighbors here identify a few crack houses. I want to know step by step if possible of how to take down these houses and turn them into some facilities like you did in Denver. Can I contact you to learn more? And, by the way, congratulations!
Lereen Castellano
Yes, you can. I would be very pleased and excited to assist you in any way that I can.
At the end of this Webcast, we will be listing ways to contact Family Star.
Vancouver, WA
What do you think are the most important reasons for your success?
Lereen Castellano
We have strong ethics, guiding principles that are universal to people who are up to something and want to make a change and improve the quality of life for others.
Washington, DC
Do you have any plans or strategies for continuing to build leadership in your organization and the community to sustain this effort over the long-term?
Lereen Castellano
Most definitely. I'm already grooming my successor. As to other key roles in the organization, we're already developing leadership within different components of our organization. We're already developing those people to take the leadership roles, and creating an advancement path for them.
Black Hills of South Dakota
What are your greatest lessons learned about leadership?
Lereen Castellano
It's actually simple. To believe in yourself, to listen to others, and to believe in others.
Oshkosh, WI
Thanks for your hard work! Your heart for people really shows.
Since you are giving so much of yourself, what specific kinds of things do you and your team do to stay encouraged and focused?
Lereen Castellano
All we need to do is to peer into a classroom and to register the miraculous development of a child. That's all we need to do.
We sit down with the babies in the classrooms, and they juice us!
Bronx, NY
Was there anyone in particular or a specific event that inspired you to take a leadership role in your community?
Lereen Castellano
Yes, my father. He was a heroin addict who grew up in that neighborhood, and he never had an avenue to express his genius. He spent most of his time in prison, and he inspired me to take another path, one that he could not.
Queens, New York
What was your journey that brought you to this work?
Lereen Castellano
I was a child who grew up in Northeast Denver. They built the argument to institute Head Start from those surroundings. I was one of those statistics. Because I wasn't reading well by the third grade. I was the child of a teen mother. I came from that neighborhood.
And when I had to become the nurturer for my siblings, because my mother had three jobs, it helped me with the understanding of what it is to be responsible to children.
And I always knew that children did not receive the kind of respect that they needed and deserved.
It's honoring and supporting their natural development.
Virginia City, Nevada
Thank you for touching so many lives-- young and old-- with an abiding belief in the goodness of all people. We have just returned from South Africa and I am want to try and help in some meaningful way but the poverty overwhelms. So again, my thanks for your courage, your conviction.
Lereen Castellano
Thank you with all my heart.
Leadership for a Changing World
Lereen, here is the last question.
Do you ever think about
throwing up your hands and walking away? What keeps you from leaving? What sustains you personally?
Lereen Castellano
There are times when it is frustrating. Because when you're up to something, it seems as though every challenge you could ever think of always sits at your door.
And every time it's reported to me that a child has learned to read, that a family recognizes the importance of respecting their child, every time that I see that a parent has shifted their consciousness about their parenting, I am inspired.
It's really like being fueled. I get fueled by seeing the impact of this program on families and parents and staff. And there are times I cannot contain my joy. And there are times when I cannot contain the sorrow and sometimes the sadness.
I'm working with a familiy of five right now who has a parent who is dying from substance abuse. When you see the courage in your parents, when you see what they have to face, it's my job to find that enthusiam to carry out that mission.
Leadership for a Changing World
That is all the time we have today.
If you are interested in learning more about Family Star, please contact:
Family Star
2246 Federal Blvd.
Denver, CO 80211
telephone: 303-477-STAR
http://clem.mscd.edu/~kirbyk/FamilyStar
Today's conversation and additional information on Family Star will be archived on the Leadership for a Changing World website, www.leadershipforchange.org.
Thank you for joining our live conversation with Lereen Castellano. Check back with us for future Leadership Talks.
Lereen Castellano
San Francisco, CA
How did the community become mobilized to close the crack house?
Lereen Castellano
Mitchell Elementary School was an oasis in the desert. Houses surrounding the school for blocks had been boarded up and abandoned, gunfire was not an uncommon sound. At school arrival time, as children were finding syringes in grassy areas it became obvious that the activities inside the building across the street were a threat to our children’s safety.
A group of parents, faculty, neighbors, and community activists formed "Friends of Maria Mitchell" to take over the building. As they worked together, their goals became loftier. They were soon doing business as "Family Star," dedicated to the revitalization of the neighborhood through education.
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