Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolina Peredo.
Carolina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I arrived to Austin from Patagonia, Argentina, 10 years ago, with my suitcase and my tourist visa. My, at that time, boyfriend, was from Austin so he quickly helped me get a job as a music journalist/ producer at a company that was willing to sponsor me a work visa. After 2 amazingly fun years of exploring the city – especially the East Side- with my bike and attending all the concerts in Town, I could possibly go to, we got pregnant. I found myself alone in the motherhood journey and had a big need of connecting with folks of my own culture.
That’s when I discovered the Montessori philosophy, quit my job and shifted my focus on Motherhood. With my ex-partner and fellow Argentinean best friend, we founded a Blog and Radio Show to talk about being a Mom in a different culture. We met many interesting people in the City and one day, when baby number 2 was on her way, we were presented with the opportunity of opening our own preschool. We were looking to find the perfect “Montessori Spanish Immersion” preschool for our children but there was nothing like that in the city, so we jumped to the adventure. We co-founded La Tribu in north Austin, sharing the space with our amazing and generous landlord.
In one year, we grew the program from 5 children to 20, so it was time to expand. My partner then decided she was ready to return back to Argentina, and I decided to continue to pursue the school project. At that time, my landlord was ready to rent me out her entire space, and thanks to a donation from a well known local company, we remodeled the entire building to convert it in a true Montessori environment, Spanish Immersion, Outdoor Learning, Culture exploration and Community mindset are still key elements of our program that families continue to be attracted to.
After 3 years, we were able to access a Small Business Loan, and expand the program to South Austin, where we now serve 70 families. I became a citizen along the way, and even though it continues to be hard for me to be far from home, my family and my culture, I appreciate every second of the opportunity that Austin provides to the ones that are willing to create an impact in our community. This year, we are celebrating the fact that 2 of our Mexican teachers got their Permanent Residencies sponsored by La Tribu. This is a big impact and my way to giving back.
At La Tribu, we try to make a difference one child at a time, we get to know all the families very closely, all their stories, and we help them providing parenting resources when it comes to positive discipline, language acquisition, potty training, arrival of a sibling, sleeping and eating patterns, and all the things in between related with development.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Losing my best friend and partner was the first biggest challenge in this path. At that time, I felt I wasn’t able to express myself in English, and that I wasn’t able to lead my project, but without any other options, I confronted my fears and grew from that experience.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
La Tribu is a Spanish Immersion Montessori preschool for children 18 months until 6 years of age. We were the first of our kind in Austin and we trained our own guides in our methods. We are known for our loving and caring ways, all our teachers are native Spanish speakers from Latin America and they bring into the daily curriculum their own cultures, flavors and ways of seeing the world. We are proud of how our children are able to become bilingual since a young age, be advance in the academics and also develop kindness with their peers and a deep respect for mother nature.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
In the next 5 years, we might be having our own Montessori in Spanish training center, since that’s a huge need in the city, especially beyond preschool years.
Contact Info:
- Email: latribururalaustin@gmail.com
- Website: www.latribuaustin.com
- Instagram: latriburural
- Facebook: latribupreschool
