Students with children now have the luxury of day care at school
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Called the Pre-Pioneer Learning Center, the idea for such a facility was first suggested as a way to combat truancy. Some teenage students who become mothers often have to choose between attending school and caring for their children, said school system director of instruction Bobby Cox. Now, he said, the girls can attend school while their children are cared for nearby, the cost of which is covered by federally funded Title V scholarships.
Additionally, the facility is available for a fee to all school system employees, including teachers, staff, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and custodians. He added it will be particularly beneficial to the system as it will likely reduce the number of teachers who permanently, or for an extended time, leave their positions after becoming new mothers.
The facility’s director, former Hickory Creek special education teacher Beth Deason, agreed.
“I wish they would have had something like this after I had my three kids,” Deason said. “Having them near me would have made me a lot more comfortable. We’re very excited to be able offer this great service to our students and employees so they’ll be able to get back to school and work sooner.”
Such a facility is fairly common. In researching the concept, school system early childhood specialist Patti Clarke visited similar school system child care centers in Cookeville, Wilson County, Sequatchie County and Marion County.
The facility’s operational costs, including the salaries of Deason and her assistant, Rebecca McDowell, will be paid by the children’s tuition. With the exception of some local and federal money, the facility will be self-sustaining, meaning no local tax dollars will be used.
Assisting the facility with volunteer labor throughout the day are child care students from the high school, for whom the center serves as a lab experience.
Though it currently serves only eight children, the Pre-Pioneer Learning Center is capable of serving 21 from the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years. Deason said she is currently receiving daily inquiries and expects all slots to be filled soon.
Asked if having infants and toddlers inside the school has been detrimental to the learning process, Hickory Creek principal Donald Prater said everything has “been real smooth, with everyone cooperating.” To welcome the facility, the fifth-grade class of Lisa Paz Mason even donated children’s books and bookcases.
The facility’s location in Hickory Creek is only temporary. It is scheduled to get its own on-site, free-standing building, to be built by the high school’s trades and industry classes, by the start of the 2004-2005 school year.