JUNCTION CITY, Kan. – The USD 475 Board of Education recently authorized the district to start construction on a new Early Childhood Center during the 2023-24 school year.“I am very excited about the decision to move forward with a new Early Childhood Center. This will allow us to continue to grow as a program and provide early intervention to more students, which will benefit our students, families, and community,” said Amber Cook, Early Childhood Center Principal.
The facility, which will be built at 820 North Eisenhower Drive, will feature 24 classrooms, and will allow for more space for students and staff for collaboration, professional development and community outreach. It will also allow for the district to open space in classrooms in each of its Junction City elementary schools, while helping grow and improve the early childhood program in USD 475.“I am thrilled that we will have a new Early Childhood Center soon, so we are able to offer a high-quality pre-school experience to our community’s children. The new center will not only allow us to expand our program, but also improve the services we offer,” said Stephanie Waterman, Early Childhood Program Coordinator.
The early childhood program offers educational services through a variety of programs for children ages three through five at no cost to families. USD 475 serves children with identified developmental needs and typically developing pre-school age children by utilizing research-based instructional programs. “We are grateful for the spaces that we have been allowed to use throughout the district, however utilizing facilities and classrooms that were not intended for our young learners does present a variety of challenges. The new center will be intentionally designed and built for our students and the specialized services we provide,” said Waterman. In addition to the center’s classrooms being led by state-licensed staff, the USD 475 Early Childhood Program has specialized staff available to support the unique developmental and learning needs of children included in the program. The specialized staff includes English Language Learner personnel to support bilingual learners, speech and language therapists, motor therapists, social workers, and special education teachers.
The Early Childhood Center, which currently sits off Elmdale Avenue in Junction City, moved from 14 to 15 classrooms at the beginning of the 2023 school year because of the growth in the number of early childhood students in the district. Each classroom serves two half-day sessions and is fully staffed. ECC staff is currently on year two of the implementation of structured teaching, allowing small group and individualized instruction of students to be met more effectively. This has included training and professional development for para-educators.
By Matt Hoover
USD 475 Communications Coordinator