Belle Children’s Services of St. Louis Arc Continuing Legacy of Empowering Youth in 24:1
We put our efforts on the front end by identifying challenges and strengths of all children in their earliest years so they and their families can experience a better path toward their personal goals.
– Kate Hannon, Belle Children’s Services of St. Louis Arc
One of the Community Impact Network’s (Network) focus areas is investing in the children through collaborative partnerships with organizations that advance families and individuals across the municipalities that make up the 24:1 community. Network Platform Partner, Belle Children’s Services of St. Louis Arc (Belle), embodies this mission. For more than 30 years, Belle has been dedicated to empowering families and children with developmental delays and disabilities to live inclusive lives.
Belle’s partnership with the Network began in 2013, when leaders from both organizations began discussing how youth in the 24:1 community could receive stronger learning, enrichment, and developmental support. From those conversations, the Embedded Early Learning Program was created, which launched in 2014 in two childcare centers in Normandy with a single early learning specialist providing classroom support.
The Embedded Early Learning Program serves children from birth to five years old, providing weekly special education support in early childhood classrooms. Belle’s trained early learning specialists partner with childcare centers to provide wraparound support for teachers, children, and families. Support includes developmental screenings and several types of therapy, including music and occupational therapy, with activities designed to build motor skills, self-regulation, and positive self-image.
Since its inception, the Embedded Early Learning Program has continued to grow as the need for early learning support has increased. As of 2025, Belle specialists work in 16 Early Childhood Centers across the 24:1 community. More than 600 children have received developmental screenings, and therapy groups have collectively served over 400 children.
Belle’s work is also a key component of the Network’s Programs Achieving Quality (PAQ) 3.0 Initiative, a collaborative effort with fellow community partners S.T.A.R. for Early Childhood Educators, Urban Sprouts Child Development Center, and United 4 Children. Together, these partners are committed to advancing high-quality early childhood education and fostering meaningful collaboration among educators across the 24:1. Belle was instrumental in the early planning and implementation of the program, dating back to 2010, and through their developmental screenings and therapy offerings, they provide critical support so that children’s goals are met by providing inclusive approaches in all PAQ classrooms.
Belle also works to support the needs of teachers, students, and families beyond the classroom. Through partnerships with the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Safety Stop program, Belle has provided car seats to families at no cost, helping give parents peace of mind about their infant’s safety. For teachers, Belle offers professional development and therapeutic support, helping educators better understand their own emotions and how they can shape the classroom tone.
Looking ahead, Belle plans to continue enhancing the lives of early childhood students in the community so they can pursue their goals at every stage of life.
We are here to help families dream big about their children’s lives, and what that could look like.
– Dana Walker, Director of Children’s Services, Belle Children’s Services of St. Louis Arc
If you would like to learn more about Belle Children’s Services of St. Louis Arc, you can visit their website here.
