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'Right now is the time': Additional funding goes a long way toward child care startups

The Hawk Eye - 5/12/2021

May 12—The former library inside Corse Elementary is stripped bare, its concrete floors exposed and some walls reduced to frames. But come August, it will be filled with tiny furniture, books, toys and bright colors.

That's when 1-, 2-, and 4-year-olds enrolled at the Corse Early Childhood Center will gather on weekdays as early as 6:30 a.m. until as late as 6 p.m.

"A lot of our construction work is down this hallway, because this is where a majority of the child care rooms are," Corse Principal Bryan Baker said on a recent walk-through of the building. "To try to maximize this space, we decided to just put 4s, 1s and 2s in here, and then 3s are close to their 3-year-old classrooms."

Just outside the library-turned-child care center is the nurse's office, which has been staffed since the beginning of the year when Corse reopened for 4-year-old preschool.

"One of the positives we have in this building is we do have a full-time nurse," Baker said. "She will work with the child care as well as the preschool."

Four-year-old classrooms line the west side of the corridor, while room across the hall will be occupied by an older group of students enrolled in Southeastern Community College's two-year Early Childhood Education program.

"(Instructor Amy Drew) will have her students come in, do a class and be able to have that observation time right here when they're here in the building," Baker said. "It may be something simple like furniture in the classroom. You can have that discussion and you can show pictures, but in the end, you can walk out and say, 'Hey, let's walk down the hallway and see what furniture in a 2-year-old room looks like.' "

Students who complete the Early Childhood Education program will be able to become paraeducators, child care professionals, child care managers or transfer to a four-year school such as Iowa Wesleyan to further their education.

The goal, Baker said, is to create a pipeline of future educators in southeast Iowa while providing quality child care and preschool programming that use the same curriculum to ensure continuity as children advance from preschool to kindergarten.

Anne Michel, an early childhood consultant with Great Prairie Area Education Agency and a play coach with the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children, said access to quality early education through developmentally appropriate play is vital to development and can actually save money.

"Most of the brain development happens by the age of 5, so if we can get children into quality centers that bring into the centers that nourish the brain, then we're that much more ahead," Michel said. "Otherwise, we're doing remediation, which costs so much more than just putting the dollars up front in good, early childhood education. Learning through developmentally appropriate play is the important thing. ... For every dollar you spend (on early education), some reports say $3 to $5 you're saving in later remediation costs or even as adults."

While quality education at an early age can save money, startup costs for 3-year-old preschool and child care centers are not cheap.

"There's a need for quality child care that's accessible, high-quality and affordable," Baker said. "So we looked at our space and said, 'Let's see if we can get the funding, the resources and the community support to do that.' "

Despite already having the space, the building's sewer and water lines needed to be extended to the media center. There's also the need for the creation of secure entry and additional office space on the Corse side of the building (Head Start is located in the west half of the building where the school's original office spaces are located). Educational materials and furnishings needed to be purchased as well.

"Starting a high-quality child care program is an expensive endeavor," Baker said. "Mount Pleasant has had to do quite a bit of fund-raising to get to that point."

With 1,041 children under age 11 and only 201 registered child care seats in Mount Pleasant, the local Chamber of Commerce announced it was seeking a location for a new child care center. It found that in a former Family Video building requiring significant renovations.

"What we thought was going to be a $225,000 renovation project in the old Family Video is now up to $350,000," said Amy McLaughlin, director of the Mount Pleasant Childcare Center.

The effort received an outpouring of support from community members and businesses offering donations, but state grant money offered a significant boost.

"The community has been incredibly generous," McLaughlin said. "There's been a lot of citizens providing private donations and a lot of businesses providing donations, and then the state has had a whole bunch of money come available, which has really made a huge impact for us."

In March, the Mount Pleasant and Burlington child care centers each were awarded Childcare Challenge Grants totaling about $180,000. That money, along with an additional $83,000 in grants awarded for the Corse Early Childhood Center, have gone toward the center's physical needs, such as renovations and supplies.

In Mount Pleasant, the grant money is being put toward renovations and is helping the center boost its number of seats from 45 to 68. McLaughlin estimated that, had it not been for the grant, completion of the child care center would have been pushed back by six to eight months.

"If everything works the way it's supposed to, we should be open by the middle to end of June," McLaughlin said.

The child care center will be a welcome addition for Mount Pleasant. McLaughlin already has received paid registrations for 40 children ages six weeks through 4 years old. And with the end to the $300 weekly unemployment payments announced Tuesday by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds just weeks before the end of the school year, the demand for child care is likely to grow.

"I do believe that in the past year, as business and industry really have been impacted by COVID, and I think what people realized is that if there's no school, you've got a lot of parents who can't work, because a 7-year-old cannot stay home by themselves," said McLaughlin, who has been a social worker for 20 years. "Preschool, kindergarten, first and second grade cannot be staying home by themselves, so I think what happened was a lot of people realized the workforce and the availability of child care are very linked."

McLaughlin noted another grant opportunity has caught her eye, this one for $150,000 through the Investing in Iowa Childcare Fund, which is administered by Child Care Resource and Referral with money from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021.

She and Baker pointed to the grants as a sign of an increased push for child care funding by state and federal lawmakers.

"I believe there are centers in the area trying to increase their enrollment, and then we're going to have a brand-new, 68-capacity child care, so I think the money and the passion are there right now," McLaughlin said. "There's an interest in child care at the local level, the state level and the federal level. Right now is the time, and I think it's important, because it's such a huge part of being able to work."

McLaughlin also hopes to start an after-school program through a partnership with the Mount Pleasant School District to provide a place for students to go until their parents get off work.

The Mount Pleasant Childcare Center has 20-25 part- and full-time positions to fill before it can open. She has received 15 applications. Mount Pleasant Childcare Center staff must be at least 16 years old and be able to pass a background check.

Parents and children will be able to check out Corse Early Childhood Center Friday during two "PEEK" open houses.

The first will be from 9 to 11 a.m. and the second from 2 to 4 p.m.

Teachers will be on hand to answer questions as well as provide activities in their 3- and 4-year-old classrooms, and refreshments will be provided in the gym.

Parking is available on Leebrick Street. Those attending are asked to enter the building via door No. 6 next to the playground on the south side of the building.

Four-year-old preschool is state-funded and therefore is available to students who will be 4 on or before Sept. 15 at no cost.

Three-year-old preschool is $70 per week.

While there are no more 1-year-old spots available, there are at least two for 2-year-olds, five for 3-year-olds and 12 for 4-year-olds.

Childcare assistance is accepted. Tuition rates are as follows:

* 1-year-old full days: $185 per week

* 2-year-old full days: $175 per week

* 3-year-old full days: $185 per week including either morning or afternoon preschool

* 3-year-old half-days: $125 per week including either morning or afternoon preschool (either 6:30 a.m. to noon or noon to 6 p.m.)

* 4-year-old full days: $170 per week including morning or afternoon preschool

* 4-year-old half-days: $85 per week including morning or afternoon preschool (either 6:30 a.m. to noon or noon to 6 p.m.)

* Halfday add-ons are available for $15 per day.

To learn more about preschool or childcare, call (319) 753-2707.

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