The Early-Fives program at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Northridge was honored as an exemplary model at the Boston College-National Catholic Educational Association 2004 conference held in Boston, Mass. on June 25-27. The two-year-old Early-Fives program focusing on a developmentally based curriculum was selected as one of 10 exceptional early childhood education models in the country.

Each year, the conference seeks to identify, honor and disseminate information on successful K-12 Catholic school programs as part of the SPICE (Selected Programs for Improving Catholic Education) initiative. Early-Fives teacher, Ginny Davies, gave a presentation about the program to conference participants, including teachers, principals, superintendents and school administrators from Catholic elementary and secondary schools across the U.S.

According to Davies, the Early-Fives program fosters each child's physical, emotional, social, cognitive and spiritual growth in a developmentally appropriate educational environment where "learning is fun." In the class, students "learn by doing" through the use of real object "manipulatives" in learning centers arranged throughout the room.