Willow Glen Resident

Cover Story

Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Children Now: Students at St. ElizabethÕs Day Home in Willow Glen (from left) Emma Vargas, Cameron Stone and Colby Stone learn about numbers through puzzle play. The children are in the 3-and 4-year-old room.

Just Like Home

Day Home continues its tradition of helping children

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

Like ripples in a pond, St. Elizabeth's Day Home in Willow Glen has touched a vast number of lives in its century of service.

The home was founded in 1907 in order to provide families with the resources they needed to stay together in times of trouble, to prepare young children for school and to instill in them an appreciation for learning.

"Throughout history, there have always been women who have to work," says executive director Dianna Ballesteros. "There was always a need for child care."

St. Elizabeth's Day Home provides care to children ages 1 to 10, divided by age group. Daycare providers at the home are called teachers, and all have received some level of formal education in early childhood development or education.

About 45 percent of the home's children are charged reduced rates for care, based on a family's ability to pay. Many of them are families with single parents, parents who have lost jobs or parents who are furthering their education.

As the cost of living in the Silicon Valley has increased, the day home has modified its affordability requirements, allowing families making more money to still qualify for assistance.

Ballesteros came to the organization in 2004 with 35 years of early childhood education. She was familiar with the organization's countywide reputation, but none of this was enough to prepare her for what she would find the moment she walked in.

"This is my third year here, and I am still in awe," Ballesteros says. "I feel privileged to be part of it."

Ballesteros follows in the footsteps of Sister Agnes Gough, who had been with the day home for 38 years and was part of the home's founding order of sisters, the Sisters of the Holy Family.

The Sisters of the Holy Family founded St. Elizabeth's Day Home, which was named after the order's founder, Lizzie Armer, and St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who ministered to the poor in the 13th century.

St. Elizabeth's Day Home is one of four children's day centers with which the religious order is involved; the others are the Holy Family Day Home in San Francisco, the St. Vincent's Day Home in Oakland and the Divine Providence Day Home in Las Vegas, Nev.

"I just knew it was a different place," Ballesteros says. "There's a living spirit here, and the sisters valued children in the context of their families."

The day home was initially in downtown, moving in 1964 to its current 3-acre site on St. Elizabeth Drive. The current location houses up to 200 students, as well as teachers and staff throughout the day. Children are dropped off early in the morning, some stay through lunch, others are picked up after school by a St. Elizabeth's station wagon and brought to the home until a parent can pick them up.

The day home serves as a "home away from home," Ballesteros says, and it treats its participating families like members of its family, trying to meet their needs rather than creating rules and structures to which families must conform.

Ballesteros says some parents don't want their children to take a nap during the day with the rest of their peers because of a preset bedtime. She says the school accommodates those families and makes sure there are enough teachers and/or teacher volunteers to watch over these small groups while the other children take their afternoon naps.

"It's a sacred trust when someone gives you their child to care for and be nurtured," she says. "Here at St. Elizabeth's, we really give children the love to learn in an environment where their conversation is valued and respected. Children do grow up to be wonderful citizens of the world."

This environment is something that first struck veteran employee Elaine Silveira. She has taught there since its relocation in 1964.

"This location was brand-new when I first started," Silveira says. "I wasn't married then, and my aunt asked me to come out and work here."

Silveira loves working with children so when the Willow Glen location opened its doors, Silveira knew she wanted to be a part of it.

"It's a really loving and caring place," she says, "a lot of hugs and kisses."

The reward is in the eyes of the children and the gratitude from the parents, Silveira says. "People come up to us and say thank you for doing such a good job with their children."

History of caring

The day home has cared for and educated generations of Santa Clara Valley residents, some of whom continue as active members of the St. Elizabeth's family.

San Jose resident Tina Rossi finds her connection to the day home in her youth.

As a young girl, Rossi volunteered as part of the Ladies of Charity junior lay auxiliary in the mid-1970s.

The organization was one of the partnerships with the day home and helped support the home through its fundraising work and onsite support.

"You never really knew how many children in need there were until I spent time there reading to them," Rossi says. "They would cling to you; they didn't want you to go."

One year, she and a friend dressed up as clowns for Halloween.

"We probably looked a little ridiculous, but the kids loved it," Rossi says. "It's just one little tiny thing like this that fills my heart."

Rossi's connection with St. Elizabeth's came full circle when she met her husband Carl. Her mother-in-law had also worked at St. Elizabeth's as a teenager, and Carl and his sister had both attended the day home as children.

"It's a wonderful organization," Rossi says. "They're always bending over backwards to make things special for everyone."

Her experiences at St. Elizabeth's proved to be powerful and inspirational for Rossi throughout her life, and when her children went to school full time, she became a full-fledged member of the charity in 2002.

"You give so much to your own children that you want to give to others as well," she says.

Rossi says that everywhere she goes there's always someone that was part of St. Elizabeth's legacy.

"Some of my friends went there," she says, " their kids and even grandkids. It's impressive to see the many generations that have gone through the experience and enjoyed it so much, they came back to give back."

For more information, visit www.stelizabethsdayhome.org.