By Ryan Fournier
The Early Childhood Development Center is up and running in the new Allied Health and Early Childhood Education building (K) at Peninsula College.
Preschool is now offered between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., with childcare open from 7:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Center is open Monday through Friday. Childcare and preschool services offered are essentially the same as before, but the new Center has revolutionized the experience for children and staff.
The new facility possesses two children’s classrooms, indoor and outdoor play areas, a stage, raised beds for planting, and a modern kitchen.
Meals served to children meet health standards set by the Child and Adult Care Food Program, from which parents receive funding for their kids’ meals based on income. The program is run through the United States Department of Agriculture.
Until now, the ECDC has had all its operations, including food preparation, in a single room, originally built as a handball court. The shared space provided no sound barrier between classes. “The noise was very distracting for children,” remembered Mary Lou Melly, the Center’s Director.
At the same time, the close quarters of the old facility offered one advantage. “Because everything was so close there, I heard everything that was going on,” Melly said. “I was more aware of it.” She pointed out that keeping tabs on the new facility requires a good deal more walking around.
The ECDC is fitted with beepers on the locked doors that sound if a child, or anyone else tries to open them without authorization. “In this day and age, you know, you feel good about those measures taken,” said Ryan Howard, a PC student whose son, Bennett , is enrolled at the ECDC.
Children of PC students have priority for enrollment. Next are faculty and staff, then regular community members.
As of now, childcare and preschool education is offered only to children between three and five years old. However, a toddlers classroom has been set aside for future use in the ECDC. No start time has been decided for this part of the program.
Children are not the only ones receiving education at the center. Parents participate in training of their own through the Family Life Education program. The FLE program, in partnership with the ECDC, offers credited classes to the parents and detailed updates of their children’s progress. As part of his participation in the program, Howard will be planting a garden in the Center’s raised beds.
The Center houses a classroom for PC’s Early Childhood Education students as well, and broadcasts lessons via Interactive Television to students in Forks and Port Townsend. The ECDC’s childcare facilities are a lab for Childhood Education students. Students working toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in Early Childhood Education get hands-on experience working with kids at the center. Once they graduate from PC, their degree qualifies them to work in a variety of settings, including childcare centers, preschools, home childcare, and Head Start programs. Some use their two year degree to transfer to a university, where they can earn a teaching degree.
Parents interested in enrolling their children in the ECDC should email Mary Lou Melly at mlmelly@pencol.edu