Plaza Community Services

👟 Huge shout out to our Plaza Community Services team!

On Saturday, July 19, 2025, our incredible staff participated in the East LA 5K Fun Run & Wellness Fair, held in celebration of the 323 Farmers Market One-Year Anniversary — and we showed up in full force! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️💪 🌇—including three amazing teachers who recently formed their own running crew: the Cardio Queens! Their shirts read: “We run faster than the Wi Fi at our school!” — now that’s a group with both speed and spirit!

The day was all about fitness, fun, and community pride. From the starting line smiles to crossing that finish line together, the energy was electric—and it wouldn’t have been the same without our awesome team. 🎉

A huge thanks to everyone who ran, walked, cheered, or supported from afar—your encouragement truly mattered!

And guess what? We’re already planning for the next East LA 5K in November, and Plaza Community Services will be back and better than ever. Keep an eye out—Cardio Queens, we expect you back in your signature shirts! 🏃‍♀️
Let’s keep this momentum rolling—see you in November! 💪❤️

📚🍎 Teacher Appreciation Week at Indiana Center! 🍎📚

This week, we celebrate the heart and soul of early childhood education — our incredible teachers at Plaza Community Services, Indiana Center! 💛

From nurturing young minds to creating joyful learning spaces, your dedication, patience, and love make a lasting impact every single day. ✨

💌 Parents also joined in by sending heartfelt notes of appreciation — a beautiful reminder of how much you are valued by the families you serve. 💐

🎉 THANK YOU for all that you do to support our children and families. You truly make a difference — not just this week, but every day of the year!

🎉 Teacher Appreciation Week 🎉

This week, we honor all educators — and give special thanks to our Teachers at Plaza Community Services, who play a vital role in the lives of children ages 0–5 in East Los Angeles.

Our teachers support each child’s growth with warmth, creativity, and a deep understanding of their unique developmental journey. From early milestones to school readiness, your dedication shines in every lesson, every smile, and every breakthrough.

By accepting guidance, embracing growth, and staying rooted in care, you continue to evolve as educators — shaping not just school readiness, but lifelong confidence and love for learning.

🍎📘 Thank you for guiding our children, partnering with families, and making each day a meaningful part of their early journey.

📣 SAVE THE DATE!

Join us for the 2nd Annual Family Resource Fair on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM at Plaza La Roca Verde, located at 702 S. Gerhart Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90022.

This free community event, in partnership with PBS SoCal, offers:

🎨 Fun activities for children
📚 Valuable resources for families
🤝 Opportunities to connect with local organizations
🦷 Free dental screenings and oral health resources
💃 Live folkloric dance performances

Bring the whole family and enjoy a morning filled with engaging activities and helpful information!

🎉🌟 Celebrating the Joy of Childhood! 🌟🎉

Yesterday, our centers came alive with laughter, creativity, and fun as we celebrated Día del Niño (Day of the Child)! 🧸✨ From games and music to crafts and special treats, it was a day to honor the spirit, imagination, and endless potential of every child in our care. 💛

Thank you to our incredible staff and families for making this day so special — because every child deserves to feel seen, valued, and celebrated. 💫

🌱✨ Earth Day/Planting Seeds 2025 at La Roca Verde ✨🌱
This past Saturday, April 11, our community came together to celebrate Earth Day in the most meaningful way — by planting seeds of growth, learning, and connection. 💚

Families gathered at La Roca Verde for a special presentation on “How to Grow Plants,” led by Angelica Salazar and Saira Soto — both proud parents of children currently enrolled at the site. 🌿 Their knowledge and passion helped inspire everyone to dig in and get their hands dirty!

🌼 Activities included:
1. Planting flowers and veggies in our community garden 🌻🥕
2. Potting plants to take home 🌱🪴
3. Building mini greenhouses and planting beans 🌱🌱

It was a day full of smiles, soil, and sunshine — and we’re so grateful for every family who joined us in growing something beautiful together! 💚

📚✨ A big thank you to Lakeshore for sponsoring $300 worth of Educational Classroom Materials for our preschool classrooms! 🎉 These materials were provided as an incentive for attending the QSLA training, When Families Know, Children Grow, and we couldn’t be more excited to put them to good use.

Lead Teacher Maria Roman and Site Supervisor Graciela Cerezo are ready to implement the valuable curriculum we learned, which focuses on the powerful link between parenting knowledge and child development. As research shows, parents with a solid understanding of these concepts are more likely to engage in positive parenting practices. We’re excited to share this knowledge with our families in small, digestible doses during our upcoming parent meetings.

Thanks to this partnership, we’re all set to create a stronger foundation for both our children and families. We can’t wait to see the positive impact this training and new materials will bring! 🌱👶💡

📚✨ Raising a Reader Parent Meeting at Gerhart! ✨📚

Last Friday, March 21, 2025, we had an amazing time at our "Raising a Reader" Parent Meeting at Gerhart! 🏫💙

We were excited to hand out "Raising a Reader Family Packets" to all of our wonderful families. Each packet included:
📖 5 exciting books for family reading
📘 A Family Guide with 12 weeks of fun reading strategies
📝 A journal for families to reflect and engage with the stories
🖍️ A box of crayons for creative fun!

These "Raising a Reader" backpacks were generously provided by Quality Start Los Angeles (CSLA), as a special gift and incentive to support literacy development at home.

About Raising a Reader: The Raising a Reader program encourages families to build early literacy skills by providing books, guides, and activities that make reading fun and meaningful. By involving parents in the process, it helps strengthen the home-school connection, fosters a love for books, and creates lifelong readers. 📖❤️

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this event a success! We can't wait to see all the wonderful moments of reading and learning that will come from these family packets. Happy reading! 📚❤️