Wunderkind celebrates first graduates of dual-language preschool

On Saturday morning, June 6, four preschoolers earned their superhero capes and walked across the graduation stage at Valley Forge Park District. The capes presented by last year’s graduates remind the graduating class that they are leaders, creative thinkers, and strong as they move forward in their lives.

Gia, Adelina, Luke, and Nicholas are kindergarten-ready and will start this fall with the speaking ability of two or more languages.

The ceremony included recognition of Wunderkind teachers, therapists, and administration, followed by remarks from the Parent Ambassadors and the preschoolers’ performance of a Spanish and English song.

“It was nice to see my kids feeling accepted and being proud of knowing two languages,” said Luke’s mom. “Something that a lot of us didn’t have growing up. He’ll tell me, ‘Mom, I know two languages.'”

The pride in language is why Elena Aguirre opened Wunderkind nearly three years ago.

She immigrated to the United States as a child and watched her Spanish not be valued. She saw it happen to families around her, too — native languages abandoned for the convenience and assimilation of English.

When Aguirre’s own daughter was born 12 years ago, she searched for a dual-language preschool in the Garfield Ridge area but couldn’t find one.

So she waited a few years, until her daughter got older, and built the school she had envisioned.

Garfield Ridge resident Roman Teczar, a Polish immigrant, has daughters who are now trilingual, speaking Polish, English, and Spanish. His oldest daughter, four years old, started when Wunderkind opened in 2023 and graduated this Saturday. His youngest, two years old, is still at Wunderkind. Teczar is also a WLC Parent Ambassador, and in his role, he strives to organize family outings and adult gatherings.

Teczar reflected on his own journey coming to the United States and learning English as a second language—something he and his wife consider the best decision they made for their education and careers. He’s committed to ensuring his daughters have the educational foundation to learn as many languages as possible to advance their future.

“We’re all about languages. We want our daughters to fall in love with languages, and embed them in their heads.”

Practically speaking, Wunderkind also fits Teczar’s work schedule. The selling point for him was the screen-free building and knowing his daughters are actually learning all day long with dedicated support from the teachers and staff. It was an instant feeling of dedication and love that Teczar and his wife felt from Changuan and Aguirre, and they knew that Wunderkind was the school for them.

Luke Garland, one of Saturday’s graduates, said his favorite part of preschool was going outside to the playground and speaking both Spanish and English in the classroom. He’s excited to go to kindergarten in the fall and make new friends.

His mother said she wanted her sons to grow up bilingual and fluent in both English and Spanish — something she didn’t have growing up — and to be proud of it.

The preschool ceremony also included remarks from Ald. Tabares of the 23rd Ward. The Alderwoman sees the value of Spanish immersion preschool, being Mexican American herself and having learned Spanish as her native language. She is now raising her 9-year-old son to be bilingual, not only to preserve his cultural identity but to open doors.

“They’re doing such great work with Wunderkind, teaching children at such a young age two languages,” said Tabares. “Knowing two languages will open many doors for these children once they get older.”

Rosa Ortiz, an early education mental health consultant with Illinois Action for Children, works with child developmental centers in Cook County’s Southwest area. She provides socio-emotional training and technical assistance for Wunderkind employees and praises their early prevention and child development work.

“Today is an example of how Wunderkind did their ceremony and values the development of children,” Ortiz said.

Alison Perez, the lead preschool teacher, said her preschoolers were the reason she loved going to work each day.

“I’m not very young, but not very old either,” Perez said. “The truth is, I get along so well with all of them. With the girls, I love talking about their outfits and hairstyles when they come in each morning. And with the boys I always remind them our classroom is not a boxing ring.”

Perez watched her students grow from little ones to big kids ready for kindergarten.

“This year has been filled with new adventures, friendships, learning experiences, and wonderful memories. It makes me so happy every time I see how much they’ve grown and accomplished things that they couldn’t do when they first arrived,” Perez said.

She felt tremendous pride seeing her preschoolers graduate, but also sadness seeing them move on to a new stage of life. She reassured them that life is about stages and moving on, but she can’t wait to see all the wonderful things ahead for them.

“You are capable, you are intelligent, and above all, you are bright. Never forget that,” Perez told the preschoolers. “I want you to know that I will always stay here for you whenever you need me. I also hope that in a few years, I will have a chance to see the amazing professionals and wonderful people you will become.”