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How you've grown
In April of 1979 WCC passed a special
bond issue to support building both the Family Education Building and
the Occupational Education Building. The Family Education Building,
which houses the Children's Center was built in 1980. The name reflected
the plan to provide family related workshops and seminars in addition
to childcare services. In fact, one of the first courses offered in
the newly built FEB was a six-week Saturday workshop on Indian cooking.
Childcare has remained the primary focus however. Each
semester a total of about 130 children use the Center during the day
and in the evening close to 60 attend. The center has ten full-time
teachers during the day and one at night. The rest of the caregivers
are aids, many of them students at WCC or Eastern Michigan University.
By all accounts the Center is enjoying great success:
The waiting list has over 30 names; parents and teachers alike are full
of praise; the children simply look happy. When the Center recently
surveyed parents, a few had suggestions for improvement like longer
hours and more time to talk with teachers but most comments were love
letters to the Center-"I love your program….I love my daughter's teachers…my
child loves to be here...My kids never want to go home...This is the best
center we've found…the program is excellent."
And when the teachers talk about their jobs, they sound
just as positive as the parents. Oh sure there are challenges. They
remind children of the rules a lot-share, don't push others, absolutely
no biting, use your words. Those kinds of things. But they like their
jobs. They enjoy the home-like atmosphere and the support they receive
from each other. They like watching the children grow and develop.
There isn't a lot of turn over in the full-time staff;
teachers tend to stick around for years. Although right now four full-time
positions need to be filled. Some of the teachers and assistants consider
it an advantage to work only 204 days a year as their contract indicates;
others would like a year-round income. All head teachers and assistants
have training in childcare and some have degrees in other fields, nursing
and natural resources to name two, but found they preferred working
in childcare.
LINK-UP winter 2001, Volume XXIII, Issue Number
By Laura Lyjak
Return to About Us page.
Trudi Hagen, Director
Family Education Building, 4800 East Huron River Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48105-4800
Ph: 734-973-3539
Email:
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