Program Spotlight

Kidworks USA: Keeping Its Sights Set on Quality

Bill de la Sierra, the president of Kidworks USA, is striding the hallway and talking excitedly about the center. The ceramic tiles that line the walkway at his feet are so spotless they sparkle. 

They appear new, as does the rest of this freshly painted mustard-and-white building tucked just off a busy overpass in Hialeah. Suddenly, in mid-sentence, De la Sierra spots a shred of tissue paper on the floor, stoops and whisks it off the floor.

“What are you going to do?” he says, tsking a bit, and then launching back into the conversation. 

There’s not much that misses the eye of “Mr. Bill,” as most of the children call him affectionately at this Hialeah center, home to a childcare center, pre-school, voluntary VPK and a Children’s Trust-funded after-school and summer program since 2005.

Outside fun and fitness is an important component of the Kidworks USA after-school program.

The adage “God is in the details” suggests that attention to detail and thoroughness are important, and Kidworks USA heralds that belief. From the protective plastic molding inserted behind the door hinges – so no little fingers will ever get pinched, to the air-conditioning system that pumps 60 percent of the stale possibly contaminated air out of the building (instead of re-circulating it as most units do), attention to detail is the order of the day.

Eight years ago, De la Sierra was nearing the end of a successful real-estate career and on the verge of realizing his dream: to become the “next Jimmy Buffett” and adventure the world in his 38-foot sailboat “Endeavor.” The winds of fate, though, blew him on a different course.

De la Sierra’s son called him. “You’re going to be a grandfather soon,” he learned. Together with his son they scoured the area for a quality childcare center for his granddaughter. But found none. At the time, De la Sierra was finishing construction of the two-story office building at 8155 W. 28th Ave. in Hialeah that he had designed. An employee made a bold suggestion: “Bill, why don’t you start a child care center?”

Stephany Ortiz, Dayanne Villalobos enjoy a healthy after-school snack with friends.

Eight years later, the “Endeavor” is still in dry dock, and Kidworks USA is a state-of-the-art center with quality as its hallmark.

“We’re trying to build an organization that has the kind of reputation that is known throughout the state,” De la Sierra says. “We’re trying to raise the bar.”

Three years ago, the program was awarded the “Best Administered After-School Program” from the Florida Afterschool Alliance. The welcome mat at the entrance of the building attests that Kidworks is APPLE certified as an accredited pre-school program. A tour of the facility demonstrates Kidworks’ dedication to quality.  

All students and staff punch in private codes into a computer system when they enter the building. No code, no entrance. The code also serves to chart a student’s attendance and the system tracks other development and progress. A security system with 16 camera sites monitors activities everywhere on the premises. Teachers and staff all carry walkie-talkies so they can be reached at a moment’s notice, anywhere within the two-story building.

Downstairs, past the infant nursery, the walls have been removed to create a large open hall for drama and fitness classes, and for a summer movie center. Past the “Boo Boo Bay” where sick children can rest comfortably and apart from their peers while they wait for Mami and Papi, is the cafeteria where the after-school children enjoy a plate of carrots, celery and Vanilla wafers or some other healthy snack.     

Several cooks, working in a cool air-conditioned kitchen with gleaming stainless steel equipment, prepare homemade meals daily for the children in the pre-school. The savory smell of roast turkey fills the room.

The playground outside has been lined with soft shredded recycled rubber from tires, an innovative and earth-friendly idea that seemed good – at first.

“The children rub the pieces of rubber on the walls – and it stains them. We have to keep painting,” De la Sierra laughs.

“We’re not a corporation here, we don’t run by committees. If someone has a good idea, something good for the kids and program, we try it,” he adds. “Then, if it doesn’t work, we just drop it.”
 
It’s hard for “Mr. Bill” to walk far through the building without one of the children stopping him for a hug, to slap him a “high-five” or to try and pull his ponytail. And when the kids play with him, he plays back. “I’m just a kid like them,” he admits.

He seems to know, too, how important it is for these kids – and all kids – to be seen.

“Do you remember what you told me the other day?” one little girl with glasses asks him as he walks by. 
“What, what did I tell you?” De la Sierra responds in his booming voice.
“You said I was beautiful,” the girl replies, smiling and beginning to blush. 
“Well, you are. There, I told you again,” he reassures her.  

Like many organizations, Kidworks suffered a cut in its funding this year. Still it has managed to increase the number of children it serves by implementing innovative changes and by spreading the pain of its funding cuts. Salaries have been trimmed. Two fitness coaches now alternate days. Field trips this summer will visit only free sites and locations. FIU students serve as tutors replacing more experienced, but higher paid Miami-Dade County school teachers.

Despite the cuts, the commitment to quality remains unchanged. The center remains open every day of the year except for the major holidays to provide a safe space for children whose parents must work. Children will soon be able to check out books and other resources from a catalogued in-house lending library. Plans are progressing for the construction of a fitness facility on the first floor – for mothers who want to exercise while their children are in the nursery.

De la Sierra would like to turn over the helm of Kidworks, possibly to one of his adult children, and he’s looking forward to getting the “Endeavor” out of dry-dock. But for a man who is the “great great grandson of Jean Lafitte” and who enjoys dressing up as the famous pirate (as well as in other costumes) to the delight of the children, at least for now he’s clearly the captain of the Kidworks’ ship.  

Written by Michael R. Malone