This past Friday, April 1, 2011, I was informed that my children would not have a space at the UNI Child Development Center beginning July 1, 2011. As you are aware, the classrooms are being consolidated to accommodate needs for Price Laboratory School.
My children, Jack (age 5) and Kate (age 2) both attend the Child Development Center. Kate has attended since she was 14 months old. Kate was born 3 months premature. When Kate started at the CDC, she had severe delays involving language, gross motor skills and fine motor skills. I was pleasantly surprised when her teacher pulled me aside to ask if she could contact Kate’s physical therapist to coordinate efforts and to make sure she was doing everything possible in the classroom to help Kate. Her teachers worked with her daily to reach her goals.
Last week, I had a follow-up meeting with Kate’s teachers and the Cedar Falls AEA. Kate has participated in early intervention services since she started attending the CDC. At this meeting, it was discussed that Kate had advanced her peers in her language and motor skills. This amazed me! I attribute this to the early education program at the University of Northern Iowa Child Development Center. Kate’s pediatrician and therapists in Cedar Rapids asked what we were doing at home to have this remarkable turn-around. While I know my husband and I take some credit, most of the credit goes to her teachers and the curriculum at the CDC.
When my son Jack started the CDC at age 4, he hated school and would cry every day at drop-off at his previous school. Within a week of being at the CDC, he was running the long sidewalk to go to school because “we do fun things there, mom”. For a now 5 year old, the campus is his classroom. Jack attends plays at Gallagher, visits the Greenhouse, plays near the Campanile, took swimming lessons at the WRC, has more Panther spirit than any UNI student I know and often asks when he can be a big boy and go to classes with a backpack like the big kids do on campus. Jack would never have received this type of education at the daycare center he was at in Cedar Rapids. We do not call the CDC a “daycare”. It is school. These children are learning every day and it is a wonderful laboratory for UNI early education majors.
Being a working mom is really challenging. Even more challenging is the guilt I had when I dropped my children off at a “daycare” where I knew my children were not receiving an education. I then discovered the CDC and with a colleague’s encouragement, enrolled my children in a quality program where a top notch curriculum was being taught at the State of Iowa’s Laboratory School. What parent would not be excited about that? Having my children nearby gives me a sense of peace and security. I can have lunch with them at noon and return to the office to finish my day. I am more productive at work because I have no concerns about their safety and wellbeing. I know my kids are in excellent hands.
Taking away the ability for faculty and staff at UNI to send their children to the Child Development Center would be detrimental to many families. While I understand students at UNI should be first, I hope plans can be made to accommodate all families currently at the Child Development Center. While Jack will be off to kindergarten next year, his sister Kate still has two more years before she will attend kindergarten. Her friends and daily schedule at the CDC are all that she knows. My biggest fear is that she will regress in her skills. I don’t think I will be able to find anything comparable.
My position at UNI is administrative and I have to make decisions every day that will not make people happy. Before I make a decision, I try to listen to all sides of the story. I am saying this because I am asking you to listen to the parents and visit the CDC and see for yourself what an outstanding early childhood program is physically on the campus of UNI. We need to do what is right…and what is best for the children -- because in the end, the kids are the ones that will lose out if they are displaced.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Mary Baumann
I absolutely agree with your post and appreciate your candid comments. As a working mom like yourself, I am far more productive at my job now that I have been able to alleviate my "mommy guilt" for leaving my daughter with other caregivers. The CDC teachers have created an environment where my daughter is thriving. At her last check-up, her pediatrician was so impressed with her development. He said, "I don't know what you guys are doing, but whatever it is--keep doing it."
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