Early Learning Center to serve community

The University of Delaware will provide high-quality early child care and education and family support services in a new center that will be housed in the current Girls Inc. building on Wyoming Road in Newark.

President David P. Roselle first discussed plans for the new center in May at a Board of Trustees meeting. He identified the initiative as an important role for the University and said the center will both benefit the larger community and provide a laboratory for UD faculty and staff involved in research on early childhood education and development and family services.

The University will complete its purchase of the building from the Girls Inc. social service agency on Aug. 30, renovate it and then open the UD Early Learning Center. Preliminary plans call for the new center to offer year-round, full-day child care for about 150 infants and children up to age 5, as well as before- and after-school care for about 50 children aged 5-12 years.

"There is a greater recognition now than ever before of the lasting importance of early childhood experiences to later development and success," Acting Provost Dan Rich said. "Our hope is that the work conducted in this facility can help to identify, apply and disseminate the knowledge and skills needed to achieve the greatest benefits for children and their families."

Michael Gamel-McCormick, associate professor of individual and family studies and director of the University's Center for Disabilities Studies, said the UD Early Learning Center will serve a diverse population of children and families. "The community will receive model services in early childhood care and education, families will receive the support services they need and, at the same time, our undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of disciplines will have experiential learning opportunities in a very high-quality clinical setting," he said.

The UD Early Learning Center will be administered through the Center for Disabilities Studies, Gamel-McCormick said, although he noted that the children served by the new center will include those with and without disabilities, as well as those considered at risk because of such factors as poverty or living in foster care.

Children and families using the center will be from the surrounding community as well as families of University staff, faculty and students, he said.

The early childhood education component of the new center also will include Northern Delaware Early Head Start, an ongoing partnership between the University and several community agencies to promote healthy development of children from low-income families. Other programs at the new center potentially will include an early childhood special education program, offered in partnership with a local school district, and other state-funded early intervention and early childhood programs.

In addition to providing services to families and educational opportunities for UD students, the center will serve as a base for faculty from across the University who conduct research on children and families. Recently, the National Institutes of Health have recognized the importance of bridging research areas, so that findings from basic science can be brought to bear on the development of prevention and intervention strategies. A primary mission of research at the center will be to bridge gaps between basic and applied research. Efforts will focus on innovative cross-disciplinary research on children and families.

"The center represents a partnership with the state of Delaware's Department of Education and Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, as well as with the Christina School District and community organizations," Rich said. "Along with our partners, we look forward to providing valuable services to our community, while enhancing the learning opportunities for UD students and faculty."

Although the disabilities studies center is part of the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy, faculty and student involvement in the UD Early Learning Center is expected from a variety of colleges and disciplines at the University. Students in such fields as early childhood education, nursing, psychology, family studies, physical therapy and nutrition will have the opportunity for observation and hands-on learning experiences at the new center, Gamel-McCormick said. At a recent meeting, he said, 47 faculty members said they would like to either offer students clinical experiences or conduct research at the center.

"The expectation is that our undergraduate and graduate students will see these high-quality practices and will then take them out into the community, wherever they work, and implement and expand on them," Gamel-McCormick said. Despite the involvement of University students at the center, he noted that the primary staff will be full-time, professional educators and caregivers.

Girls Inc. has had a cooperative agreement to reserve a portion of the available space in its child-care program for children of UD employees, and Maxine Colm, University vice president for administration, said the new center will continue to serve UD families. "This move only enhances the opportunities that will be available for University employees for infant and child care," Colm said.

Funding for the center will come from fees for service, the University, private foundations, grants and contracts.

The University and Girls Inc. plan to close the sale, and UD will take ownership of the building on Aug. 30, which will enable Girls Inc. to run its summer child-care program. Gamel-McCormick said the amount of time needed for renovations has not yet been determined, but the new center will open as soon as the remodeling work can be completed and it receives a state child-care operating license.

In addition to child care, the UD Early Learning Center will provide various support services for families, depending on what the families' needs are, Gamel-McCormick said. He said such services might include GED classes, parenting education or health and nutrition programs.

Another component of the center will be technical training for child-care providers throughout Delaware. Providers will be able to visit and observe the model programs at the center, and the center's master teachers also will conduct professional development at other child-care sites.

In the future, Gamel-McCormick said, the center could expand its operations to other locations, such as Wilmington or southern Delaware.

ANN MANSER