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The new Early Learning Center is an invigorating breath of fresh air at Contra Costa College, providing a capable staff, modern facilities and a large constituency to be served on campus.
The ELC, however, has not always been the source of energy and optimism on campus that it is today.
The early childhood education department that now occupies the ELC used to be located in portables out by Lot 9, Barbara Grillo, liaison between the ELC and the early childhood education department, said. There was originally one portable across from Police Services, until CalWORKs eventually provided a second portable for the Montessori education program.
The new center was paid for by the California Legislature, Grillo said. "They had a commitment to build child care centers at community colleges," she said.
Plans for the new ELC were discussed 20 years ago but construction began some time later. When the center opened in 2003, however, the facility did not have any chairs or tables because of a problem with the suppliers.
Faculty had a large amount of input in the design of the center, Grillo said, and many are satisfied with the result.
"I feel like I'm in a Mercedes now," family life education specialist Sylvia Mazzi said. "Before, I felt like I was in a Pinto."
Having been on campus 21 years, Mazzi worked in the portables and said that after working in facilities that had accessibility problems and were "not designed for children," it makes her appreciate working in the ELC.
Located next to the Vocational Arts Building on the west side of campus, the ELC functions as a young child education and day care facility, serving students, faculty and community members. The ELC and its faculty have recently received an accreditation from National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The facility also leases out space for an infant toddler program called Early Head Start. The building has three preschool classrooms, two rooms for the infant toddler program, three offices, a laundry room, an adult kitchen, a child kitchen area, a staff work room that often functions as a lounge, eight bathrooms throughout the building, one child bathroom in each classroom, and three adult bathrooms.
There are 10 college courses held in the ELC as well, with observation rooms in every classroom for students or parents to observe the children for early childhood education courses.
While most rooms in the ELC are fully operational, some faculty said the lack of a real lounge to fully utilize their breaks is one area that could be improved.
There are not any direct schemes to renovate or redesign the ELC in the Facilities Master Plan, as the center is already a new addition to the campus and fully functioning for all of its needs.
Early Learning Center Director Marva Lyons said that the staff finds the facility wonderful and everyone benefits from the work being done.
"We're proud," Lyons said. "We're here for the faculty and the community."
Contact Francisco Rendon at frendon.advocate@gmail.com.
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