{"id":907,"date":"2016-05-31T15:00:50","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T20:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/?p=907"},"modified":"2016-06-06T14:03:59","modified_gmt":"2016-06-06T19:03:59","slug":"the-importance-of-early-childhood-learning-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/2016\/05\/31\/the-importance-of-early-childhood-learning-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Early Childhood Learning Centers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by David Gartner <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAll 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds need to stay at home with their moms!\u201d This is a statement that was made by a stay-at-home mom in the first meeting we had at St. John-Redwood Falls MN when in 2009 we began the preliminary discussions of starting an all-day\/every-day preschool program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe how our school has grown through the preschool. I still believe it\u2019s good for children to stay at home with their moms, but that doesn\u2019t work for every family.\u201d This statement was made by the same stay-at-home mom as above. Why the change?<\/p>\n

My MLC master\u2019s degree final project was entitled, \u201cThe Importance of Early Childhood Learning Centers.\u201d I was doing research on all-day\/every-day kindergarten programs\u2014ours was a three-day-a-week kindergarten program in 2008\u2014and I came across all-day\/every-day preschool. I realized quickly that children in Minnesota (and most other states as well) at an alarming rate are not prepared for kindergarten.<\/p>\n

How could this happen? Most children didn\u2019t even attend preschool when I was a child. Could it be the economy? Both parents working just to make ends meet? More demands placed on kindergarteners? All-day preschool programs were popping up all over the United States trying to better prepare children for kindergarten. Why should St. John be any different? We had students not ready for kindergarten. Let\u2019s get them a good jumpstart.<\/p>\n

A committee was started. Two committee members were MLC graduates, two were stay-at-home moms, and two were working moms. \u201cWe have to do this!\u201d This came from the two MLC graduates.\u00a0 \u201cWe will work for free just to get this program started.\u201d They should have been careful what they said.<\/p>\n

After much discussion we decided to go for it and seek approval from our school board and church council. Our church council voted to support the program, but very little would be given financially from the budget because we didn\u2019t know the chances of success.<\/p>\n

The program started with both teachers from the committee called to teach 3-5 year olds. We put flyers all over town, got addresses of possible families and sent mailings, put postcards in the mail\u2014whatever we could think of to draw interest.<\/p>\n

We had three goals for the program. It would be Christ-centered. It would be high-quality. And it would be very flexible, where parents could choose half days, full days, extended hours. They just needed to attend two mornings during which Bible Story time was taught along with the rest of the curriculum.<\/p>\n

Those two teachers made $11.42 per hour because that is how much money came in from the program.<\/p>\n

Right away we heard from several families. \u201cWe wish we could attend your program, but you don\u2019t offer summer care. We have to pay to keep our spot at daycare for summers. It\u2019s not cost-effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quickly our committee regrouped. Could we really offer summer care? How could we do this without burning out our teachers? It just so happens that Martin Luther College juniors and seniors (or those studying to be teachers in other colleges) are qualified to teach a summer program and MLC is only 38 miles away. MLC gave us their blessing. Quickly we started a summer program. We\u2019ve had an MLC student or two teach in our summer program every year since. The MLC students get great experience, and they have a guaranteed summer job at 40+ hours a week with a salary of $10 per hour.<\/p>\n

Our program has been blessed with excellent teachers and dedicated paraprofessionals. These teachers are willing to talk at a second\u2019s notice to parents who just want to visit or need someone to listen to the struggles or successes in their lives. This really helped get our program off the ground and has attributed to its success.<\/p>\n

Our program continues to grow due to three factors. We had a new school facility built in 2010. We are licensed by the State of Minnesota to have 48 students daily. And we offer before-school, after-school, and summer care programs.<\/p>\n

The last three years have been very special. Almost 100% of our 4-year-olds have continued on into kindergarten. The parents quickly see that the culture of the school is warm and caring and that St. John feels like a big family. We also charge less tuition for kindergarten than we do for all-day early childhood care.<\/p>\n

I was just sitting down recently with a single mom who came into our school on a whim. She wanted something different for her child. She said with a huge smile on her face, \u201cI don\u2019t know how I got here, but I am so thankful that God led me here. St. John is just one big family, and I get to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your school can be one big family as well. The harvest is ripe, and families are looking for a quality, affordable, convenient, and flexible Early Childhood Learning Center. Why not give them what they\u2019re looking for?<\/p>\n

Click here to read Dave\u2019s thesis.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dave Gartner<\/em>\u00a0D<\/em>MLC<\/em> (’92)\u00a0teaches fourth grade and serves as principal at St. John-Redwood Falls, Minnesota. In 2010 he completed a Master of Science in Education degree with a leadership emphasis at Martin Luther College.<\/em><\/p>\n

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