Correspondence

Message from Candice York
July 14, 2011

The CDC will operate with 5 classrooms in the Fall 2011.  Classrooms will be organized as follows:
    • 4-5 year olds room will be PLS 101.
    • 3 year olds will be downstairs in room 6, next to the CDC office.
    • 2 year olds will be across the hall in room 9.
    • 15-30 month old children will be in room 10, and,
    • infant room will be in room 3, remaining in its current classroom.

With this model, children were moved into age appropriate classrooms and 15 children were added from the waiting list using the following priority criteria, 1) CDC full time teacher's children, 2) siblings of current CDC families, 3) children of UNI students, 4) and children of UNI faculty and staff.  If you have any questions regarding your child's enrollment for fall, please let me know.

During the Fall 2011 semester, a process will be established to review the enrollment procedures and priorities.  Thank you for your patience throughout this process.

Also, some of you who have infants have been asking about the recent crib recalls.  We have ordered all new cribs that meet the new compliance guidelines and will have them ready for the Fall semester.  Fortunately, we received a grant from CCR&R to purchase 8 new cribs.

Thank you for your continuous support of the CDC.  I hope that your summer is going well.

Candice

-----
Letter to President Allen, Provost Gibson, Dean Watson, Dr. Countryman, Dr.
Davidson, and Ms. York followed by Dean Watson response


From: CDC Parents <unicdcparents@gmail.com>
Subject: UNI Child Development Center
Date: June 29, 2011 8:17:49 AM
To: Ben Allen <ben.allen@uni.edu>, Gloria Gibson <gloria.gibson@uni.edu>, Dr. Dwight Watson <dwight.watson@uni.edu>, Nadene Davidson <nadene.davidson@uni.edu>, lyn.countryman@uni.edu, Candice York <candice.york@uni.edu>

President Allen, Provost Gibson, Dean Watson, Dr. Countryman, Dr.
Davidson, and Ms. York,

Our understanding is that the current plan is for the CDC to be
downsized by approximately 18 students next year, moving to a 5
classroom enrollment.  We are surprised that this decision has been
made, as no adequate or reasonable justification has been provided to
parents or staff as to why a highly functioning, nationally
recognized, and high demand program is being downsized without every
effort being made to seek out alternative solutions.

The fire code was the original justification for taking over 1-2 of
our classrooms; this argument was deemed irrelevant by follow-up fire
inspections as pre-K, kindergarten, and 1st grade are also out of
compliance and a classroom takeover does nothing to reconcile this
problem. The second justification was the need for the enrollment of
the Research and Development School to grow according to legislative
mandates; review of these mandates does not support an immediate need
for this classroom change, and there are other classrooms available
both within the building and elsewhere on campus to allow both
programs to maintain optimal enrollment.

This decision has been made with no reassurance toward us that it will
not have a negative outcome on the financial viability of the CDC,
which impacts the continued sustainability of the center in years to
come.  Dean Watson, you made the motions to consult with parents in
May, but none of the concerns or wishes of the parents were actually
taken into account when making of this decision. You will recall that
there was unanimous support at that meeting for what you described as
option 2, maintaining the current six classrooms at the CDC and
allowing PLS to utilize the UNI classroom and their own conference
room for instructional space.  We also have not been offered
alternative space to replace the classroom being commandeered that we
have been utilizing 10 hours per day, 10-11 months out of the year, in
an optimal capacity.

The UNI Child Development Center has a wait list of greater than 100
students, the highest accreditations of any child care center in the
Cedar Valley, and is an outstanding part of the early childhood
education program in the College of Education at UNI.  It should be
advocated for, protected, and promoted at the highest levels of
administration at UNI.  This downsizing of the program is a
significant and disappointing loss to the UNI community, and we urge
you to reconsider how to address this situation, in order to protect
the many students, faculty, and staff at UNI who count on the CDC to
participate in and contribute fully to the university.

Sincerely,
Dr. Jill Briggs
Dr. Jason Lau
Ms. Magdalena Galloway
Parent members of the UNI CDC Policy Board

From: Dr. Dwight C. Watson <dwight.watson@uni.edu>
Date: June 29, 2011 4:27 PM

I met with the parents.  I transparently told you about the concerns.  Even though I put the concerns on the table, I vetted your anecdotal connections to these concerns.  When I said that we had leadership concerns and people anecdotally talked about the effectiveness of the teachers.  When I spoke about the strategy to grow the enrollment in PLS to fulfill the legislative intent of increasing the overall enrollment of 680, you countered that it was not in the rule. Even though I explained the strategic initiative.  We also spoke about the fiscal solvency and you asked if we maintained the enrollment will that affect the sustainability.  As we reviewed the enrollment in light of the other concerns, we discerned that a five room model will support the needs of the current population as well as honoring the wait list.  There was not a need for the sixth room.  We do not want to grow the program until we can remedy some of the other concerns. Please recognize that consultative input does not automatically become the decision.  With this said, I appreciate your continued advocacy for your children.

---
From:
Date: Fri, Jun 17, 2011 at 7:03 AM
Subject: Re: UNI CDC
To: CDC Parents
Cc: candice.york@uni.edu, Nadene Davidson

The decison at this time is to seek a classroom structure that accommodates the current students minus any students whose parents are not currently enrolled at UNI as well as accommodate some people on the wait list. At this time, it seems like a five classroom structure may allow this to happen. Nadene Davis and Candice York are working on the enrollment lists. Once this is solidified, we will have a clear picture.

Dr. Dwight C. Watson
Dean, College of Education
---
Latest e-mail to Dean Watson in response to the message from Candice York (see her comment posted at the bottom of this tab), followed by his response.

From: CDC Parents <unicdcparents@gmail.com>
Date: May 24, 2011 at 4:23 PM
To: dwight.watson@uni.edu
cc Gloria Gibson <gloria.gibson@uni.edu>, candice.york@uni.edu, lyn.countryman@uni.edu
subject: UNI CDC

Dean Watson,

We understand from Candice that there are currently two options being
considered for this fall.  We are happy to hear that one of these
options includes maintaining the CDC in its current classroom
arrangement, as well as continued consideration of a reduction in
enrollment to a 5 classroom plan.  Due to the short time available for
parents to find alternative childcare, maintaining current space is
the most reasonable option to pursue for this academic year.  Only a 6
classroom arrangement will allow us to continue to serve the families
of all currently enrolled children.  Per our understanding, you
instructed Candice to share these options with us, and we were
wondering if this is the proposed period of time that we are to "vet"
these solutions?  If so, we will pass along this information to
parents to allow them time to comment or share concerns with you and
other involved administrators.  We would also like to figure out a
time to meet with you and Provost Gibson prior to the final decision,
as she thought she would be able to do that soon.

Also, we continue to get many questions from parents, so if you could
provide us again with an update to parents or timeline for
decision-making, that would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Jill Briggs
Jason Lau
Magda Galloway


from: Dr. Dwight C. Watson dwight.watson@uni.edu
to: CDC Parents <unicdcparents@gmail.com>
date: Tue, May 24, 2011 at 5:50 PM
subject RE: UNI CDC

It is time for me to talk to the parents again or at least the leaders.  Let
me know when I can do this.

Dr. Dwight C. Watson
Dean, College of Education
University of Northern Iowa

---------


Message to Dean Watson from UNI CDC parents requesting an update (followed by his response)
From: CDC Parents <unicdcparents@gmail.com>
Date: May 11, 2011 at 3:35 PM
To: dwight.watson@uni.edu
cc Gloria Gibson <gloria.gibson@uni.edu>, virginia.arthur@uni.edu,

Dean Watson,
Thank you for clarifying the process that you are going through.  We understand that these things take time, but parents who are planning to enroll in the fall need to know if they have a spot.  Parents need some reassurance, as we are hearing different things at different times.  We know that Candice was asked to create an enrollment list for a 5 classroom plan prior to her meeting with you, but that would not actually accommodate all currently enrolled families, as there are infant siblings who could not be served.  At the same time, you have told us that you will accommodate all currently enrolled families.  This is creating a lot of unease and confusion.  Would you be able to draft a brief update to the parents that we can send out?  We think it would be helpful if you could provide a timeline, and a tentative date for the meeting to vet possible solutions with the parents.

Sincerely,
Dr. Jill Briggs
Dr. Jason Lau
Ms. Magdalena Galloway
Parent representatives of the UNI CDC Policy Board

Response From: "Dr. Dwight C. Watson" <dwight.watson@uni.edu>
Date: May 11, 2011 6:54:02 PM CDT
To: "'CDC Parents'" <unicdcparents@gmail.com>
Subject: RE: Request for an update

Update:
Parents of children who are enrolled in the CDC this year and are still working at UNI or attending UNI will have a slot for next year. The current thinking is to determine if we can use 5 rooms instead of 6 rooms for the CDC. We are investigating this option as well as exploring other rooms in the building that can be utilized for early childhood space.  We are awaiting the official state fire marshal report that should take place in the next week.  We will then have to respond to how we will meet the compliance challenges.  The President, Provost, Tim McKenna, the university's lawyer, and I as well as Jason and Dean from the physical plant walked through the rooms in questioned to determine the measures for compliance.  The President and Provost understand both the compliance and the capacity issues.  I cannot give any definitive timeline at this point, but please note there is daily energy devoted to this initiative.

Dr. Dwight C. Watson
Dean, College of Education
University of Northern Iowa

---------

Another Letter to Provost Gibson  (followed by her response)

Subject: Request for meeting

From: CDC Parents <unicdcparents@gmail.com>
Date: May 3, 2011 at 6:50 PM
To: Gloria Gibson

Provost Gibson,

We appreciate your busy schedule at this time of year.  We would like

to request a meeting with you at your earliest convenience, prior to

any final decisions being made by Dean Watson regarding classroom

space at the UNI Child Development Center (CDC) and Price Lab School

(PLS).

We would like to review any potential for loss of classroom space on

the part of the CDC.  There has been no demonstrated reason that PLS

needs to grow so urgently, and if growth of PLS is deemed a priority,

there is no reason that the CDC should be penalized with decreased

enrollment to allow that to happen.  The CDC is firmly on its way to

demonstrating a second consecutive year of financial independence, and

has a nationally recognized program.  It has been recognized as Iowa's

Early Childhood Education Program of Excellence.

http://www.uni.edu/coe/news/coe-news/uni-child-development-center-featured-article-naeyc-accredited-program.

The CDC will not be able to fully serve the teachers or the students

with any reduction in classroom space.  You told us last month via

email that you would be happy to meet with us at a later date, and we

would like to request that meeting as soon as you are able.  We ask

that any final decisions be delayed until we can share our concerns

with you.  We will call your office tomorrow to arrange an

appointment.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jill Briggs

Dr. Jason Lau

Ms. Magdalena Galloway

Parent representatives of the UNI CDC Policy Board

A response from Provost Gibson to UNI CDC parents
From: Gloria Gibson
Date: May 4, 2011 at 8:13 AM
To: UNI CDC Policy Board
Cc: Dwight C. Watson,  Patricia G Woelber

Dear CDC Parents,

I have had several requests for meetings.  As you note below, I have been consistent in my answer which is I am willing to meet with you.  I have also been consistent is expressing my understanding of the seriousness of this issue.  There are a few things I would like for you to understand.

1)  I am a parent.  Although my children are grown, I remember the challenges associated with child care.  

2)  This week I am putting in 12-14 hour days because it is the end of the semester AND graduation is Saturday AND we have the First Lady of the United States attending graduation.  In addition, UNI is also anticipating at a sizable deficit for FY 2012.  This also brings challenges.  I have many demands on my time right now - many!

3) I prepare for meetings.  Showing up at a given time does not constitute a successful meeting if one is not adequately informed on the issues.  I need to devote time to understanding the classroom space issue at CDC, including visiting the space. I want to also get background information on the issues pertaining to the Fire Marshall's report.  

Let me reiterate, I am willing to meet with you as soon as I can.  Pat will be in touch to schedule a meeting in the near future.  I would greatly appreciate your patience in this matter.  Gloria

--------

Letter to Provost Gibson on Wednesday, April 27, at 3:39 p.m.  (followed  by her response)
Subject:  Concerns regarding UNI Child Development Center

Provost Gibson,

There are issues of serious concern that require your attention regarding the current situation at the UNI Child Development Center.

Proposed classroom consolidations and rearrangements would reduce one-fifth of essential childcare services provided by the CDC.  The information contained in the attached document outlines the events of the past month and our concerns regarding how these issues have been handled.  Please give your time and attention to address issues reviewed in this communication.

We understand that you likely have a busy schedule coming up as we are on the end of the semester, but due to the urgency of the matter to so many, we would appreciate your response by Friday, April 29.

Sincerely,
Dr. Jill Briggs
Dr. Jason Lau
Ms. Magda Galloway
Parent representatives of the UNI CDC Policy Board

A response from Provost Gibson to UNI CDC parents

From: Gloria Gibson
Date: Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 9:30 AM
Subject: Re: Concerns regarding UNI Child Development Center
To: UNI CDC Policy Board 

Cc: Dwight C. Watson, Benjamin J Allen, Pat Woelber

Dear UNI CDC Policy Board,

I am currently at a day-long Board of Regents meeting. In addition, I have a full calendar tomorrow and next week because of graduation. I understand the seriousness of this issue. I will get an update from Dean Watson at my earliest convenience and get back in touch with you at my earliest convenience.  I appreciate your patience.  Gloria

Sent from my iPad

-----------

Call for meeting on Tuesday, April 26, at 5:15 p.m.

Dear parents and staff of the CDC,

We continue to work to maintain the current enrollment and quality of the CDC. As it currently stands, the state fire marshal will be coming through the building on Tuesday, April 26, to give an official opinion on the fire code compliance questions. To the best of our understanding, it is possible that the 4 classrooms in the basement of the CDC, as well as the PLS pre-K, kindergarten, and 1st grade classrooms are out of compliance with current fire codes, due to the fact that children 1st grade or younger cannot be above or below grade/ground level. However, upon further review, the new fire codes only apply to buildings built after January 2010. Of course, this is based on our reading of the fire codes, and certainly none of us are engineers or fire inspectors! The risk to the CDC is still of great concern. We are at a point of standstill, however, until the fire marshal gives an opinion.

We would like to hold a parent meeting on Tuesday, April 26, at 5:15 pm to allow us to share any additional information that we manage to glean from the fire marshal's inspection, as well as to hear any questions or concerns that you have, and to begin to gather strategy or ideas for the next steps that we should take. This meeting will be held in the 2-3 room.

In the Documents tab (observe above) we are attaching a copy of the fire codes for your review as we know there are many diverse talents among our group, and if any of you have any concerns or interpretations that you think would be helpful for review with Candice before she, Lyn, and Dean Watson walk through with the fire marshal, please let us know. You may contact us by email at unicdcparents@gmail.com.

Thanks for your continued support!

-----------

Message to Dean Watson from UNI CDC parents requesting an update meeting (followed by the response from the Dean)


From: CDC Parents <unicdcparents@gmail.com>
Date: Apr 13, 2011 at 9:58 PM
To: dwight.watson@uni.edu
cc Gloria Gibson <gloria.gibson@uni.edu>, virginia.arthur@uni.edu,
Subject: CDC update meeting request

Dean Watson,

We are happy to hear that you are continuing to gather information regarding the situation at the CDC.  We will continue to work hard to advocate for our children and for continued excellence in education at the CDC.  In that spirit, we would still like to request an update meeting with you and the three of us in the next few days.

Parents are increasingly anxious regarding future childcare arrangements.  They are waiting to hear an update directly from you or from us.  Based on our inquiry, it is nearly impossible to find an alternative quality place for our children in such a short period of time. 

The members of the Policy Board want to know how we can help to resolve any short-term problems that you have identified regarding the operation of the CDC.  We represent a resourceful, dedicated group of parents and staff, and would like to contribute however we can.

Respectfully,
Dr. Jason Lau
Dr. Jill Briggs
Ms. Magdalena Galloway
UNI CDC Policy Board parent representatives

---
From: dwight.watson@uni.edu
Date: April 14, 2011 2:15:36 AM
To: CDC Parents <unicdcparents@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: CDC update meeting request

All is going well with discussions about the CDC and PLS sharing the rooms.
The desire is that all presently enrolled students in the CDC and PLS will find a place in the rooms that are available.
Due to necessary enrollemnt growth in PLS, creative solutions are being sought.
The thought of changing rooms for compliance sake is a wasted effort because all rooms that are below or above the ground level have been deemed out of compliance.
We have found the inconsistency in the fire marshal reports and we are seeking the councel of the state fire marshall who has the ultimate responsibility in signing off on the compliance issue.  It seemed that when the CDC was reviewed they were reviewed by Cedar Falls under the 2003 codes, but the 2009 codes are the current codes and with these codes came the age-level requirements for birth through first grade students.
We will keep you informed.

Dr. Dwight C. Watson
Dean, College of Education
dwight.watson@uni.edu
University of Northern Iowa
Schindler Education Center 205
Cedar Falls, IA 50614
Office: 319-273-2717
Fax: 319-273-2607

-----
A response from Dean Watson to UNI CDC parents

From: Dwight C. Watson
Date: Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 12:42 PM
Subject: Re: UNI CDC parent meeting follow-up

To all involved:

I will work closely with the directors of the CDC and PLS to maintain the rooms as the are presently assigned.  The rationale here is that if the building has several rooms that are out of compliance, and moving some students will not provide complete compliance, but cause much unrest, then it is best to maintain what we have.  

I do want to caution parents on overstepping their roles.  I suggest that your concerns be voiced to the group of parents who you think best represent you and that the parent representatives meet with the director of the CDC.  I will be convening several meetings until this concern is remedied and the director will be a part of these meetings.  I caution the parents because I do not want individual actions to jeopardize our united progress.  I have heard that some parents are requesting reports from the Facilities Department in reference to compliance issues.  As I said at the meeting, I will check into these things and we will make informed decisions about the next steps.

I do not foresee being able to convene a meeting of the parent council before the 15. I will be meeting twice next week to discuss the issue with Candace York, Nadene Davidson, and Lyn Countryman.

After these meetings, I will share what we discovered.

Sent from my iPad

Follow up email to Provost Gibson, April 7, 2011 @ 1:34 am (CDT)
Provost Gibson,

Thank you for your response to our invitation to a meeting of those concerned about the UNI Child Development Center.  We are especially pleased to hear that you agree that "we need transparency and we need accurate information" as options are being considered. We also appreciate your willingness to meet with us at a later date.

More than 50 people were in attendance, and we were pleased that Dean Watson was present to review the current situation, issues, and possible solutions.  Since you were unable to attend the meeting, we are sending you a copy of the PowerPoint presented at the meeting for your information.  It provides an overview of the situation as we understood it to be at the time of the meeting.  We hope you will find this information helpful.

We will continue to focus on our two primary concerns as presented at the meeting:

1. Have we considered all possible alternatives to accommodate the pre-K and kindergarten classes without displacing the CDC from the current 3-4 and 4-5 classrooms?
   
2. Will we have a quality, safe place to send all currently enrolled children next school year?  (Our definition of quality and safety is maintaining all current accreditations and services: a) NAEYC; b) Quality Rating System; c) DHS licensure; and d) Head Start.)

We feel that positive first steps were made, and we have requested a follow-up meeting with Dean Watson for next week as per your suggestion.  We have asked to play an active role in presenting and considering solutions as we go forward. 

We invite you to follow the parents’ blog and read the personal stories there to better understand the culture surrounding and the commitment to maintaining this excellent child development center on our campus. http://unicdcparents.blogspot.com

Thanks again for your time and attention.  We appreciate your support of the UNI Child Development Center.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jason Lau

Dr. Jill Briggs

Ms. Magdalena Galloway

UNI CDC Policy Board Members

Update to parents, staff, and students of the CDC, April 7, 2011 @ 12:38am (CDT)
Dear UNI CDC parents, students, and staff,

Thank you for your overwhelming support during the past 5 days!  You are a vital part of an amazing effort to protect our children and maintain a high quality of education both for our CDC students and the UNI early childhood education teachers who work with them.  Thank you to all who came to the meeting last night to show support, ask questions, and share ideas.  Also, thank you to the students who volunteered to play with the children so that parents could attend the meeting!

For those who were not able to attend the meeting, and for those who are wondering what the next steps will be, we want to give you an update.  More than 50 people attended our parent meeting on Tuesday, April 5.  At the meeting, Dean Watson made the following commitment to the attendees:

“We are not going to make any changes that were suggested to Candice and everyone will stay in the same room.”   

To paraphrase his words: The Dean also stated that this would be disruptive, and that they would seek solutions that would be in compliance.  However, he continued to suggest that it would be prudent to seek alternative childcare arrangements which leads us to question whether or not our spots at the center are guaranteed after June 2011.  Dean Watson would not commit to that.

Hence our two primary concerns as presented at the meeting remain:

1. Have we considered all possible alternatives to accommodate the pre-K and kindergarten classes without displacing the CDC from the current 3-4 and 4-5 classrooms?
2. Will we have a quality, safe place to send all currently enrolled children next school year?  (Our definition of quality and safety is maintaining all current accreditations and services: a) NAEYC; b) Quality Rating System; c) DHS licensure; and d) Head Start.)

Please be aware that Dean Watson, Lyn Countryman, and Candice York are out of town until at least next Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, so there will not be many changes between now and then.  Per Provost Gibson’s email dated Apr 5, 2011 at 4:04 PM, the policy board should meet with the Dean as soon as a meeting can be scheduled. The policy board has requested a meeting with the Dean to be scheduled on or before April 15.

Meanwhile, please continue sharing your personal stories on our blog. http://unicdcparents.blogspot.com

Post your comments, questions or concerns there as well, and share the website with friends, family, and colleagues. The amount of traffic our blog has received these past five days has been noticed, and continued traffic on the site demonstrates our ongoing commitment and community support.

Sincerely,
Dr. Jason Lau
Dr. Jill Briggs
Ms. Magdalena Galloway
UNI CDC Policy Board Members

Follow up email to Dean Watson, April 6, 2011 @ 11:17 pm (CDT)
Dean Watson,

Thank you for attending our meeting last night.  We know that you are very busy, and we are grateful that you were able to hear our concerns and share information with us.  A good start was made last night to pursue solutions that will be best for all of the children of the CDC as well as the R&D school.  With more than 50 concerned attendees, last night was a respectful exchange of information and ideas.  We are very glad to hear that you do not intend to re-organize or move any of the CDC classrooms, as it would be disruptive to the students, and that you intend to find a route to accomplish compliance with the fire inspector’s concerns.

To reiterate our two primary concerns as presented at the meeting, we will continue to focus on:

1. Have we considered all possible alternatives to accommodate the pre-K and kindergarten classes without displacing the CDC from the current 3-4 and 4-5 classrooms?
2. Will we have a quality, safe place to send all currently enrolled children next school year?  (Our definition of quality and safety is maintaining all current accreditations and services: a) NAEYC; b) Quality Rating System; c) DHS licensure; and d) Head Start.)

We appreciate that there is much work to be done to find viable solutions to maintain and expand the excellence of the UNI Child Development Center next year and for years to come.  The parents, staff, and education students of the CDC are a resourceful, well-connected, and passionate group of people willing to work hard to help pursue this mission of excellence.  We would like to continue to be part of the process as you work to find solutions.  While we appreciate that you need to carefully consider options, we ask that you consult with us as the parent members of the CDC policy board.  We hope this allows us to serve as a liaison between you and the many concerned parents of the CDC.  We must be able to continue to contribute ideas and provide a response to any solutions that you are considering.  One insightful parent suggested the creation of a committee made up of concerned parties from the CDC, Price Lab School/R&D school, and the College of Education that would review current obstacles and assemble and consider possible solutions.  

As Provost Gibson suggested yesterday, the policy board should meet with you as soon as a meeting can be scheduled.  We would like this first meeting to be scheduled on or before April 15.  

On behalf of the parents of the CDC, we thank you again for your time and for involving us in the process as we go forward.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jason Lau

Dr. Jill Briggs

Ms. Magdalena Galloway

UNI CDC Policy Board Members

Response from Provost Gibson regarding invitation to open meeting, April 5 at 4:04 p.m. (CDT)

Thank you very much for your e-mail.  Please know that the provost's office and the deans are very concerned about the situation at the UNI Child Development Center.  Dr. Watson sent out a letter earlier this afternoon expressing his desire to meet with the CDC policy board to discuss relevant issues.

Unfortunately, I can not attend the meeting this evening.  Other UNI staff you have invited are not informed about the issues.  I certainly agree with you - we need transparency and we need accurate information.  I suggest the board initially meet with Dwight as soon as a meeting can be scheduled; I am willing to meet at a later date.  Again, I appreciate your e-mail and will do whatever I can to assist.  Gloria

Invitation to open meeting today, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. SEC 247
Dear parents and concerned members of the UNI community,

We thank you for your continued support in our efforts to pursue quality childcare for the students, faculty, and staff at UNI. We would like to meet to discuss the recent concerns about potential changes to the UNI Child Development Center. We invite all parents, administrators, and concerned parties to be part of an open discussion today, Tuesday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. in room 247 of the Schindler Education Center (just off the SEC lobby) . We will invite Dean Dwight Watson, Interim Director Dr. Lyn Countryman, and CDC coordinator Candice York to be present, answer questions, and review potential solutions and next steps. We will also extend the invitation to Provost Gloria Gibson, Associate Provost Virginia Arthur, Dean Philip Mauceri, Dean Michael Licari, and Dr. Nadene Davidson to be present.

Plan to attend this very important meeting and represent your children and the UNI CDC community. Limited childcare will be provided. Our blog is located at http://unicdcparents.blogspot.com. Please send this invitation on to anyone who may be interested in support for pre-K education at UNI.

Sincerely,

UNI CDC Policy Board Member

Letter to Dean Watson, Dr. Countryman, and Ms. York
The message sent April 5 (10.46 AM) on your behalf by CDC Policy Board Members:

Dean Watson, Dr. Countryman, and Ms. York,
We've invited all parents, administrators, and concerned parties to be part of an open discussion today. The Parent Meeting is now scheduled tonight, April 5, at 7:30 in Schindler Education Center Room 247.
We apologize for giving you such a short notice. It is greatly appreciated if you would consider attending this important meeting to answer any questions the parents may have concerning the changes at the CDC.

We are also extending the invitation to Provost Gloria Gibson, Associate Provost Virginia Arthur, Dean Philip Mauceri, Dean Michael Licari, and Dr. Nadene Davidson to be present. They are being copied in this message.

Again, thank you very much for your time.  We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Sincerely,

UNI CDC Policy Board Members

CC: Provost Gloria Gibson
       Associate Provost Virginia Arthur
       Dean Philip Mauceri, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
       Dean Michael Licari, Graduate College
       Dr. Nadene Davidson, Head, Department of Teaching

Message from Dean Watson to UNI CDC parents
The message sent April 5 (6.12 AM) to parents listserve:

Dear CDC Parents and Teachers:
I am sorry that the CDC director's e-mail has caused such alarm.  The director sent information that did not capture all aspects of the concern and settled on a solution that was not in the best interest of the students attending the center.

There are other viable solutions that can be made and conversations will be had about these solutions.  I am meeting jointly with the directors of the CDC and Price Lab School on next week to discuss alternative solutions.

Be assured, that we will not be eliminating 24 students and all classrooms will be utilized to accomodate our current capacity.  These changes may affect enrollments, but not the displacement of existing students.

I applaud your advocacy for your children and I am sorry you have been misinformed.  I will meet with the parent council to vet the solutions once they have been established.

Sincerely,

Dr. Dwight C. Watson
Dean, College of Educationdwight.watson@uni.edu
University of Northern Iowa
Schindler Education Center 205
Cedar Falls, IA 50614
Office: 319-273-2717
Fax: 319-273-2607

Correspondence with Interim Director Lynn Countryman
The first message sent April 3 (4:05 PM) to Interim Director Lyn Countryman on your behalf by parent representatives on the CDC Policy Board. Her response follows the request.

Dr. Lyn Countryman
Interim Director
Iowa's Research and Development School
College of Education
University of Northern Iowa
1901 Campus Street
Cedar Falls, IA 50613-3593

Dear Dr. Countryman:

On behalf of the CDC parents whose children are currently attending the
Child Development Center, and parents who are on the long waiting list to be
admitted, we would like to schedule an open meeting with you and/or others
involved in the recent decisions regarding the center's facilities.

We were informed late Friday afternoon that our children along with 25 other
children of UNI faculty and staff members will no longer be able to attend
the CDC by the end of June. This leaves us with insufficient time to find
alternative child care that is of comparable quality, not to mention the
fact that we are proud to be part of Iowa's Early Childhood Program of
Excellence
( http://www.uni.edu/coe/news/coe-news/uni-child-development-center-featured-article-naeyc-accredited-program).

As representatives of the CDC Policy Board, it is our sincere hope to learn
about all the facts in the course of making these decisions so that we can
inform and assist other parents who might have been impacted by the
decisions. Please provide us with possible dates and appropriate place for
an open meeting. Due to the urgency of the matter, we respectfully request
that you make yourself available within this week. Please respond to us at
your earliest convenience. Here is our contact information:

Your sincerely,
[signed]
Dr. Jason Lau
Dr. Jill Briggs
Ms. Magdalena Galloway

CC: Provost Gloria Gibson; Dean Dwight Watson, College of Education; Dean Philip Mauceri, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences; Dean Michael Licari, Graduate College; Dr. Nadene Davidson, Head, Department of Teaching; Ms. Candice York, CDC Coordinator; Ms. Michelle Byers, Interim Director, Human Resource Services

From: Lyn Countryman
Date: 4/3/2011
Time: 5:50pm

" I do appreciate your interest and advocacy. The CDC is a valued participant in Early Childhood Education.
There is erroneous information that has been distributed and we are discussing this situation and will be sending information out to parents. Rest assured we take all education of all students seriously. We will be
working to schedule a meeting.
Thanks again."

Lyn

From: Jason Lau
Date: 4/3/2011
Time : 8:16PM

Dr. Countryman,

Thanks for your prompt reply and attention.  I appreciate your time in reviewing this situation. To me, the "erroneous information" as you pointed out is completely irrelevant.  Our question is a simple one: Does my son, including 24 other children, still have a place in the CDC by the end of June?  Yes or No.  It is our hope that you can gather all the facts and provide us the answer.  Please provide us with possible dates and appropriate place for an open meeting soon so that we can inform all the parents.

Per Dean Watson's request, I will hold off my letter to the President until I hear from you and the Dean.

Very respectfully,

Dr. Jason Lau & Mavis Njoo
Parents of Harrison Lau

From: Lyn Countryman
Date: 4/4/2011
Time: 3:15PM

Jason
I am in N. Carolina. So will have to respond when I get back.
Lyn

Sent from my iPhone