Greetings,

As we embark on a new school year, we welcome back our students, families, staff, and community with open arms and purpose. Each school year is an opportunity to strengthen our commitment to our children, our language, and community. At KCLC, every lesson is more than an academic experience, it’s a step at preserving the Keres language, traditions, and identity of our ancestors for future generations. Through daily immersion, our students learn to speak, think, and connect in our language while developing the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in today’s world. This year, we will continue to create meaningful learning experiences that connect our children to the land, our history, and our community. Whether in the classroom or the outdoors our children will grow as confident learners and proud Pueblo children.

We wish everyone a successful, joyful, and meaningful school year. Together, we are not only educating the next generation, but we are also helping to ensure that our language, culture, and identity will thrive for generations to come.

We are ready to start our 14th year at KCLC! As we welcome our staff and children to their environments after their summer break, we reflect on the lessons learned while our children were in their families’ care. Some may have learned to knead dough to bake bread while others may have learned to split wood for the first time. These teachings come with great knowledge that is passed down from generation to generation. We also would like to welcome Sandra Sandoval-Castillo as our Assistant Head of School. Sandra comes to us with a background in early childhood education and a willingness to learn about how KCLC uses the Montessori practice in service to our Keres language education.

Along with the anxiousness of a new school year, we are eager to see our new learning center come into fruition. While we wait for our learning center to be built, our educators at KCLC will continue the heart work of bringing our mission to life, reclaiming our children’s education, celebrating our heritage, and nurturing learning through a curriculum that honors both cultural knowledge and academic growth. We are blessed to witness their hard work every day. Blessings to all!

Celeste Naranjo
Head of School