Nurturing curiosity in every child.

What We Do

At Brillante, we partner with families to give children the best possible start in life through child care and preschool programs that support both you and your child. Brillante is a state-licensed program, serving children ages 2- to 5-years-old with preschool and full-time care. The Brillante classrooms at Explora are a pilot program for the bigger Brillante Early Learning Center, currently under development, which will serve as a lab school for early childhood workforce development and a hub for family and community resources.

Brillante is located in Explora Science Center & Children’s Museum and provides a play- and exploration-based, STEAM-rich learning environment for children and families. We believe in the potential of STEAM learning to empower children and families while also recognizing the interdisciplinary and social nature of learning and development in early childhood. Our curriculum is emergent, meaning that rather than following a set of themes, units, or manuals, we develop our curriculum based on the interests, joys, and needs of our students. Teaching and learning at Brillante is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach.

Learn more about the Reggio Emilia Approach…

Reggio Emilia Education Video
Values & Principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach
North American Reggio Emilia Alliance

Mission Statement

The mission of Brillante Early Learning Center is to support our community by increasing the local capacity for accessible high-quality early learning and care for student and working families, building the early childhood workforce, and serving as a hub for family and community resources.

Philosophy Statement & Core Values

Brillante Early Learning Center is committed to being a relevant, thriving program that supports our children, families, educators, and our community. We are guided by five core values–equity; partnership; wellness; play and exploration; and purposeful environments.

Non-Discrimination Clause

Brillante Early Learning Center promotes equal access of services for all children and families. In accordance with federal civil rights law, regulations, and policies, Brillante does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

We believe diversity strengthens our children, families, educators, and community. We value inclusion and full participation of those with varied abilities and identities, while honoring cultural and linguistic diversity. We are committed to creating opportunities for equity and eliminating barriers to prosperity and access for people from historically-excluded and marginalized populations and acknowledge the power of starting young to create opportunity for all children.

Our core value of partnership grows from our commitment to learning alongside children, whom we uplift as respected, intelligent, creative members of our community and who play a critical role in their own learning and relationships. Brillante is a place where children, families, and educators can participate together through listening, dialogue, and exchange to shape rich learning opportunities and provide support. We are especially committed to meaningful partnership with families. The staff at Brillante seeks partnerships for the greater good as we work to achieve positive, collective, systemic impact.

Brillante is committed to building a thriving early childhood ecosystem, where people feel safe, healthy, supported, and whole. We value the physical, emotional, social, and cultural well-being of our children, families, staff, and community. We acknowledge children’s rights to outdoor play and healthy food. We also work to uphold the wellness of our families by serving as a resource for support and the wellness of our staff through workforce and professional development and compensation.

The spaces we share play a critical role in learning. As educators we will facilitate environments where there is order and beauty in the arrangement of space, equipment, and materials. We value the natural world and the right of children to play and explore outdoors. We see early childhood as a space that bridges home and the bigger, wider world, systems, and relationships of which children are a part. We strive to create accessible, functional, nurturing, and aesthetic spaces that reflect our core values.

Our Team

Sarah McKinney
Director Of Brillante Early Learning Center

Victoria Roanhorse
Manager Of The Coalition For Science Learning In Early Childhood

Jesse Murray
Lead Teacher

Alma Chacón
Teacher

Kayla Villanueva
Teacher

Chelsea Begay
Teacher

Sol Ulibarri
Teacher

Victoria Lemus
Teacher

Sarah Khraishi
Teacher

Melissa Krukar
Teacher

Our History

Brillante launched two classrooms at Explora in August 2023 and May 2024 to meet an urgent need in our community for high-quality child care and preschool, while developing our new early learning program. Our mission continues to expand! In winter 2024, we will be breaking ground on a new Brillante Early Learning Center building - a future facility that will serve over 140 infants, toddlers, and young children.

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As New Mexico’s first and only museum-based early learning center, Brillante also supports the professional development needs of our local early childhood community. We serve as a lab school for CNM’s Early Childhood Multicultural Education program and a mentorship site for the Early Childhood Mentors Network. As we continue to grow, we will support the work of other community-focused early childhood programs across New Mexico and serve as a hub for community resources.

More Resources

Families

Resources for enrolled and prospective families.

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Students & Educators

Resources for early childhood professionals.

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Brillante Stories

Diane Duran
Brillante Parent

“Brilliante is more than just a preschool program; it is a blessing for our family. You've given our daughter a safe space to grow, learn, and develop the vital social skills she needed.”

A Brillante Practicum
Student

“I really enjoyed my time [in the Brillante classroom]! I took lots of notes about the language that [the Brillante team] used in the classroom and began using [it] the next day in my classroom. I am so thankful I was able to observe a classroom like this… it was so valuable to me!”

Florencia Monge
Brillante Parent

“Our daughter started in the Brillante classroom with limited English language, we speak Spanish at home, and her vocabulary and level of expression in English have flourished. This brings me a lot of peace as a parent since I know she will then be prepared to start in an all-English-speaking school in kindergarten next year.”

Nurturing curiosity in every child.

What We Do

Learn more about the Reggio Emilia Approach…

Mission Statement

Philosophy Statement & Core Values

Non-Discrimination Clause

Our Team

Sarah McKinney Director Of Brillante Early Learning Center

Victoria Roanhorse Manager Of The Coalition For Science Learning In Early Childhood

Jesse Murray Lead Teacher

Alma Chacón Teacher

Kayla Villanueva Teacher

Chelsea Begay Teacher

Sol Ulibarri Teacher

Victoria Lemus Teacher

Sarah Khraishi Teacher

Melissa Krukar Teacher