On November 6, 2025, Littleton Public Schools proudly opened the doors to the new Family Learning Center, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to strengthen families as partners in education. The center’s inaugural program, the Little Learners Lab, welcomed its first group of 1–3-year-old children and their caregivers for a joyful, interactive learning experience co-led by LPS educators and Future Educators from EPIC Campus.
The Family Learning Center, a vision supported by Superintendent Todd Lambert, represents the district’s ongoing commitment to educating the whole child by supporting parents and caregivers as partners in the educational journey. “We know that families are a child’s first and most important teachers,” said Dr. Lambert. “The Family Learning Center will help ensure families have the knowledge, tools, and support to guide their child’s educational journey, starting from the very beginning.”
Empowering Families From the Start
The first offering from the center, the Little Learners Lab, was designed specifically for toddlers and their caregivers during a critically important stage of brain development. Each “Circle,” or class session, features playful activities that build early skills in language, motor development, and emotional growth while strengthening the parent/caregiver-child bond.
“Between the ages of 1 and 3, a child’s brain is developing and building the essential architecture needed for all future learning,” said Candice Bataille, the Family Learning Center’s director. “By intervening at this foundational stage, we ensure children have the strongest possible emotional and cognitive blueprint to navigate their entire educational and growth journey.”
Based on Teaching Strategies’ Creative Curriculum, the program helps families:
Strengthen social-emotional skills like sharing, turn-taking, and self-confidence.
Develop pre-literacy and fine motor skills through fun, hands-on play.
Support language growth through songs, stories, and interactive conversation.
Build community among families and share parenting strategies and support.
Led by Experience and Passion
Ms. Bataille brings a uniquely global, personal, and professional background to her leadership of the Family Learning Center. From designing educational programs for UNESCO, to raising neurodiverse daughters in a bilingual household, her career and lived experiences have shaped a deep passion for empowering families of all backgrounds.
“My belief is that supporting the family is the most effective way to support the child. Every child is born with a potential of being a magnificent contributor to society and should move through life with joy and resilience. Every child is deserving of unconditional love, respect, and to be seen for who they are and what they bring. Every child deserves to experience safety—both psychological and emotional—along their entire journey of growth and development.”
A Vision for the Future
The Little Learners Lab is just the beginning. Future programs at the Family Learning Center may include workshops on navigating the school system, mental health and wellness, digital safety, parenting skills, special education advocacy, and more–all offered with cultural sensitivity, language support, and a welcoming spirit.
Ms. Bataille envisions the Family Learning Center becoming a “trusted, joyful, and inclusive hub” where families can grow together with confidence and connection to others. “We want every family to feel empowered as their child’s first and most effective teacher.”
Through this new center, LPS, in partnership with the Littleton Public Schools Foundation, is investing in students, families, community, and a stronger future for all.