Help Jess and Javi Stay Together at School

Hello! My name is Luka and I’m a preschool teacher in Cambridge. I work alongside my friend and co-teacher, Jess. Jess is a wonderful mother to her son, Javi, who also attends our school in the infant room. Jess is a single mother who works as a teacher full-time. Her teaching style is warm and friendly, and her lessons for her preschoolers are engaging and thoughtful. She is also an amazing artist who is always creating despite her busy schedule and sometimes runs a small shop at local fairs and pop-up events. Jess works hard and gives back so much to the community she has been a part of for the past few years. She is well-loved by her colleagues, students, and families who are part of our community.

Today I’m reaching out on Jess and Javi’s behalf to ask the greater community to help support Javi’s continued enrollment at our school. Even with the staff discount we are given, the cost to send Javi to our school, and pretty much all early childhood schools and daycares in the Cambridge/Somerville area, are out of the price range of a single parent on a preschool teacher’s salary. Jess rents a small apartment in the Somerville area where she and Javi live on their own. She pays for his insurance and for all other medical and living expenses for the two of them. Jess is in the process of finding a practical solution that will allow her to continue her work as a preschool teacher and also find care for Javi. It’s terrible that we live in a world where a mother can’t afford to send her infant son to the same childcare center that she works at, let alone not be able to find anything close to where they live. Time is running out for them and hard decisions will have to be made if they can’t find a solution.

I am hoping to raise enough funding to send Javi to our school for one year. This will allow time for Jess to figure out a plan that works for her and Javi. I care a lot about this family, and I know there are a lot of families who have Jess to thank for the loving care she has provided in her years as a teacher. Let’s show her that she is part of a community that cares for families like hers and is willing to reach out and support those who would give back a loving gift ten-fold.