Loss of Space for the UNI Child Development Center

We were saddened and shocked when we heard of the recent space loss announcement for the UNI Child Development Center. Our daughter started at the UNI CDC when she was 21 months old, nearly 6 years ago now. We were excited to move her from her previous daycare situation to the Child Development Center. Quality care and education was paramount to my husband and me, and as professors at UNI, we found that the highest quality of care was right down the hill. There was typically a long waiting list, so we had to wait one year before we could enroll our daughter. At that time, the center was located in the 4 rooms in the basement. We were constantly impressed with the learning opportunities the staff provided not only for the children but also to future caregivers with field experience and employment opportunities to students in the early childhood development program.

The center worked hard to achieve the highest level of accreditation with several agencies. They were also successful in obtaining funding for both Early Head Start and Head Start children. This funding required a change in the configuration of age groups so the agreed number of children that qualified for the Head Start funding were in the age appropriate rooms. This new funding for the center led to the expansion to the current 6 rooms which allowed the center to increase the number of children so they could continue to serve the entire UNI community, faculty staff and students as well as new Head Start families.

The center always continues to provide educational experiences for the staff. For example, Candice and Donna worked hard with us to educate themselves and the other staff at the center about food allergies. They made sure to provide safe food and activities for our daughter and train their staff about the medical action plan in case she had an allergic reaction. This education for the CDC staff and student staff has become timely training as the occurrence of food allergies in children is growing and is a critical issue of which our future educators need to be aware.

Our daughter has recognized Price Laboratory School as "her school" since she was 2 years old. Note she said school not daycare. She even at an early age she recognized that she was learning and growing at the Child Development Center and it was not just a place to be dropped off for the day. PLS is still her school since we live in the PLS district and are pleased that the School Age Program, an extension of the Child Development Center, was started to serve PLS elementary families after school, on teacher in-service days and in the summer. We were pleased that the center created this program since, as former CDC parents, we knew that our daughter would have quality after-school care right at Price Lab. We mention the School Age Program only to show how much we care about the Child Development Center and the quality of care they have given to our daughter over the years and continue to provide to their current families of both the UNI and PLS communities.

The loss of two rooms has forced the center to make a difficult choice of which families they will have to let go, Head Start and UNI student families along with much of head start funding or faculty/staff who pay full tuition dollars. The loss of either would mean a financial blow to the program along with displacing many families. We understand that the families of faculty and staff are those that will be displaced. This difficult decision by Candice is again a testament to the commitment the center has to provide quality preschool care to families by choosing the families that could not afford this level of care without the Head Start funding or reduced student fees. However, it is difficult to find this level of care for the families who can afford it. We feel deeply for those UNI families that now have to find a new childcare situation. We are also struck that many recent changes at the University tend to make faculty and staff feel that they are less valued members of the UNI community.

The UNI Child Development Center adds much to the mission of UNI. They are a model program that other child care centers strive to emulate. They allow students with small children to pursue their educational goals by providing a quality program which students can afford. Faculty and staff could enroll their small children in an excellent program close to campus. The CDC provides essential field experience to students who wish to pursue careers in early childhood care by working at a center that has been recognized nationally as a top level program. The reduction of space will reduce the number of students who will benefit from the expertise of the permanent staff. If one of the goals of UNI is to be recognized as a premiere institution for pre-K-12 education in the state and nationally, it seems strange to reduce preschool educational experiences and not see quality preschool education as a larger part of their pre- K-12 mission. It is our hope, as a former parents of the Child Development Center and current parents of the School Age Program, that some resolution could be found to allow the UNI Child Development Center to continue their mission of providing the highest level of care and preschool education for which they have been recognized at their current level for entire UNI community.

Laura Hoistad Strauss, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Tim Strauss, Associate Professor of Geography
Past Parents of UNI Child Development Center
Current Parents of the School Age Program