My son Joshua spent Pre-K and Kindergarten lost where letters and sounds were concerned. They came and went from his mind like water, always running through but never leaving an impression. It didn’t matter if he repeated them and saw them, nothing stuck. Because of the nature of the public school system curriculum, all the teachers were aware he was behind and wasn’t retaining the information, but their hands were tied. They couldn’t adjust the material to where he understood; instead, we all had to watch from the boat while he drowned and fell behind.

Joshua came into H.E.L.P. unable to write his name or recognize any of the letters of the alphabet. He couldn’t remember or understand the concept of days of the week, let alone the concepts of sounds and reading.

In just three weeks of school, he could write his name without a reference, started to remember letters, sounds, and is beginning to recognize some words. This is a monumental leap forward in such a short time compared to the two years before where he couldn’t keep up at all.

H.E.L.P. Miami is phenomenal because of the flexibility to tailor their material to the child instead of the other way around. Also, the care and patience of Ms. Aly made Josh feel included and safe, fostering an excitement to learn and an excitement about school that I have never seen from him before.

I am so utterly grateful for everyone at H.E.L.P. Miami, especially for Ms. Aly, Ms. Luisa and Ms. Cassandra who have all made a tremendous impact in my boys’ lives. Saving them from a lifetime of feeling less to feeling they are limitless.

I think Josh showed exactly what H.E.L.P. Miami is by saying, unprompted, “I love school. They help me.”

Thank you, Barbie and Tamara for allowing H.E.L.P. Miami to exist.