New children's center opens
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: News
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Staff Reporters
Children recited the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang to the crowd under the portico of the new Helen L. Greathouse Child Development Center (HLGCC) during the open house on April 8.
The new center, located on the southeast side of campus near the physical education, was made possible by Greathouse's earlier endowment to Midland College and by contributions from the 2005 $41.8 million bond issue.
The previous Greathouse building was equipped to handle up to 52 children and the new 10,838 square-foot facility is set to handle up to 128 children on a weekly basis. Children currently enrolled at the previous center have already moved into the new center and additional children will be able to enroll in the new school year.
The new building features five classrooms for ages two months up to five years old. It also contains a modest-sized kitchen, play areas, lobby and observation rooms with wireless headsets to listen to the children.
Some high school, nursing and psychology students are able schedule visits to the new center to learn about the children's behaviors without interrupting classroom activities. The curriculum is specifically designed to be "developmentally appropriate" and the new three-year-old classroom even contains computers.
"It's a big difference from the old one we had," said Rita Stotts, child care director. "It came out better than I had expected."
Stotts said she had done some collaboration work with architects and was pleased with how well the building turned out.
"The new building has more rooms that will soon have infants, toddlers, two year olds, a three year old classroom and four and five year olds together," Stotts said.
The new facility also has a bigger playground so that the children have more room to play. The playground has synthetic grass where the children can play without worrying about getting cuts or germs, Stotts said.
Security at the new center is a high priority, Stotts said, with cameras at the main entrance, in the hallways and classrooms, as well as outside. Staff members can now monitor visitors and all the children's activities. They are trained to handle emergencies and are scheduled to have safety drills on a regular basis.
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