By its usual 7-0 vote this evening, the Joplin R-8 Board of Education approved construction of an Early Childhood Center on the old South Middle School site at 22nd and Wall.
Superintendent C. J. Huff said the cost of the project, which was estimated at $9.5 to $14.5 million will not end up hurting the budget all. Huff said the money will come through various grants and sources including Community Development Block Grants and FEMA.
One necessity was that the building be placed in a part of town that was damaged by the tornado and which is heavily low-income. Board members agreed that the old South property fit that description perfectly.
According to the fiscal note provided in the Board of Education documentation, prepared by Director of Special Services Lisa Orem and signed off on by Superintendent C. J. Huff, the funding will come through "a combination of local, state, federal, FEMA 404 safe room, funding, Community Development Block Grant funding, and foundation grants."
The report says "the estimated cost of the facility is between $9.5 and $14.5 million depending upon capacity and available funds."
"The district may have some upfront, one-time expenditures for bricks and mortar. For example, the district required 25 percent match for the 404 safe room."
The expansion of the program is justified by Ms. Orem and Huff at the beginning of the report:
"Since the May 22 tornado, the need for quality early childhood programs has grown exponentially. According to Child Care Aware, the City of Joplin had 67 licensed daycares in the community. Today there are only 30. Quality childcare programs are an essential infrastructure component for the redevelopment of our community. Young families cannot move to a community where affordable early childhood programming is not available.
"It is well documented that early intervention programs during those critical early years is essential to children entering kindergarten ready to learn. Sadly, in Joplin, over 50 percent of children entering kindergarten lack the necessary skills to be successful in school. This creates a significant skill gap between children ready to learn and those who are not. Early intervention is essential to remediating this issue long term. Additionally, the research clearly indicates a profound lifelong impact on children who attend high quality pre-schools vs. children who do not. Therefore, the need is great for the Joplin Schools to pool available resources to support early childhood education."
3 comments:
At one time I would have found this an exciting and endearing project. But so many of the projects proposed by this administration have been less than successful, or not as promised, that I have no faith whatsoever in this one. If they have already estimated the funds, then they must have already consulted their favorite architects for proposed building plans.
Thanks for including the patrons in your planning, CJ! A prime example of transparency, right there.
So sad that when anything new is proposed, the expectation now is that it's begun in secret, it won't matter what parents, teachers or any other patrons think about it, it will involve spending that can't be supported and it will include unnecessary people.
Way to go R8 board and administration.
I hope that the preschoolers will get to have toys in their classrooms, since kindergarten can't have them anymore.
Early childhood education should be a time to introduce students to experiences they can build on later in their education. How many children in Joplin have been to a farm, yet they're expected to have this background knowledge to do well on tests in elementary school.
Why should we be so insistent on having 5 year olds read fluently and write paragraphs when they are not developmentally ready for these skills? Children are not being allowed to be children anymore. They aren't encouraged to play or use their imaginations. They aren't able to explore the world around them. Instead, they are expected to be little adults.
Post a Comment