• Early Childhood Programs Department
• Family Education Programs Department
• Scholarships
• Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI)
• Service Statistics

Early Childhood Programs Department

For the year ended June 30, 2007, Hopkins House provided early childhood and educational programs to 219 children and adults residing in the Washington metropolitan area.

Preschool Academy
The Hopkins House Preschool Academy is a true “school.” Our focus, in addition to offering a safe-haven for the children of working parents, is educating and preparing them for the educational challenges they will face in kindergarten and beyond.  Studies show that children who attend quality preschools like Hopkins House are less likely to need special education or remedial classes in the future; more likely to graduate from high school and go on to college; more likely to postpone parenthood until an older age; and, more likely to own a home.

In 2007, 90 children enrolled in our Helen Day Preschool Academy. These children demonstrated measurable acquisition of specific learning social, motor and cognitive skills necessary for success in kindergarten.

Helen Day Preschool Academy

1224 Princess Street / Alexandria, VA  22314 / 703-549-4232
Named in memory of one of Hopkins House's founders, the Helen Day Preschool Academy is located in Old Town Alexandria.  The Academy serves 55 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years old, and includes an infant care center.  The Creative Curriculum is used in the Junior Kindergaerten Prep and Kindergarten Prep classrooms.  All members of the education staff have college degrees and are required to take a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education annually.    Click here for Brochure, Student Enrollment Application, or Parent's Preschool Quality Rating. 

James L. and Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy

8543 Forest Place / Alexandria, VA  22309 / 703-549-4232
Located in the Mt. Vernon community of Fairfax County, the James L. and Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy opened in October 2007.  The Academy was named after local entrepreneurs.  Housed in the Associated Builders and Contractors Building (ABC Building) the Academy will serve 90 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years old, and include an infant care center. The Creative Curriculum is used in the Junior Kindergarten Prep and Kindergarten Prep classrooms.  All members of the education staff have college degrees and are required to take a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education annually.    Click here for Brochure, Student Enrollment Application, or Parent's Preschool Quality Rating. 

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Family Education Programs Department

The Hopkins House Family Education Programs Department designs and operates programs that offer information and knowledge to parents to encourage and support their quest for financial self-sufficiency, increased involvement in the education of their children, and good health.  Through workshops, seminars and mutual-support group activities, parents expand their knowledge across a range of subjects:  Family budgeting, debt-management, homeownership, leadership, meeting-management, public-speaking and advocacy, and family literacy.  Click here for Family Education Programs Brochure. 

Family Education programs are free and open to the public.

Financial Literacy Workshops

These financial literacy workshops are designed to help participants achieve financial self-sufficiency.  We aim for this financial goal through educational workshops on debt and credit management, household budgeting, vehicles of savings & investing and purchasing your first home.  These workshops are facilitated by financial planners, bankers, special program specialists, as well as mortgage and real estate professionals.  Hopkins House helps families learn the skills they seek to accomplish the dreams they have for their children, their families and themselves.

DADS ("Dads And Daughters & Sons") Project
This all male program encourages and supports father(-figures) in their quest to become actively involved in the education of their children, primarily through literacy and educational trips.  Using a library of children’s books provided by the D.A.D.S. Project, father(-figures) are invited to read several books each month to their child and to post entries in a monthly journal about their experiences.  Father(-figures) who complete their books and journals then participate in educational weekend trips with other fathers and their children.

Parent Leadership Training Project

This project equips participants with the confidence, skills and working knowledge to advocate for their child in and out of the educational arena (e.g. Public Speaking, Advocacy, Meeting and Agenda Management, Parent Advocacy, Political Advocacy).  Public figures, PTA members, fellow parent and teacher volunteers facilitate these workshops to educate our parents and guardians in these vital areas.  Once participants have attended the seminars of their choice, some then have the opportunity to implement what they have learned as a parent elected officer of the Hopkins House Parent Association Board while others have an opportunity to use their newly gained skills with other parents to organize an event or function that benefit other parents in-house or in the community.

Elward J. Alexander Memorial Gift Project
With the hope that knowledge can save lives, Hopkins House seeks to increase awareness about the pain and suffering violence inflicts on children and families through a program established in memory of a 19 year old college student killed in 1999. The Elward J. Alexander Memorial Gift Fund at Hopkins House provides a cash “gift” for the education of a child or teenager whose family has been victim to violent crime. This permanent fund enables Hopkins House to reach out to these young people with a message of hope and caring. In 2005, Elward's brother, the first recipient of the Memorial Gift, was killed.  In sympathy to the family, no recipient was selected that year.  Recipients are selected by Hopkins House; the gift cannot be applied for. 

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Scholarships for Children
We are committed to ensuring that no child or family is deprived of Hopkins House services for lack of ability to pay. Our parents include office assistants, receptionists, waitresses, sales clerks, and working people with modest incomes and enormous love for their children. In 2006, through the Children’s Scholarship Fund we are able to assist 15 working, low-income families afford the cost of quality education services for their children.  Click here for Scholarship Application.

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Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI)

A collaborative effort between the Connecticut Commission on Children, Hopkins House and the City of Alexandria, the Parent Leadership Training Institute of Alexandria (PLTI) seeks to enable parents to become leading advocates for children by helping parents become the leaders they would like to be for children and families; Expanding the capacity of parents as change agents for children and families; Developing communities of parents within regions of the state that will support one another in skills development and successful parent action for children; Facilitating systems change for parental involvement with increased utilization of parents in policy and process decisions; and Increasing parent-child interactions and improve child outcomes through parent involvement. For additional information and application, click here for PLTI.

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Service Statistics