The Chicago Center for Early Education will celebrate its grand opening on Thursday, May 2, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with an open house, demonstrations and special presentations. The new, state-of-the-art center provides a comprehensive collection of multi-media resources to help adults nurture the growth and development of young children. The facility, designed for parents and early childhood professionals, is located at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Van Buren St.
The center, a component of Mayor Daley’s Early Child Care and Education Plan, provides a wide range of materials on childhood issues, from birth to age eight. The collection has early literacy materials (including new and classic children’s books), periodicals, reports, manuals, activity boxes, training videos, audio tapes and computer software. Resources can be borrowed, with the exception of software which must be used on site.
A computer lab with 15 computer stations provides access to the World Wide Web, e-mail, word processing and other software applications. Visitors are welcome to use the computers for research, study and preparation of materials. Training sessions will be held to help parents and teachers navigate early childhood sites on the Internet. Reservations can be made for group use of the computer lab.
The facility can accommodate groups of up to 40 people in its meeting and training areas. A range of AV equipment is available. In addition, a dedicated work space is designed for parents and teachers to prepare educational materials. A laminator, scanner, bookbinder, paper trimmer and letterpress are provided.
Topics for parents include stages of child development, transition to school, health and nutrition, discipline, emergent literacy, age-appropriate activities and parenting skills. Teachers and other child care professionals will benefit from a range of resources on curriculum planning, program management, advocacy, licensing and accreditation, professional development, early learning environments and assessment and observation tools.
“We hope Chicagoans will take full advantage of everything this facility has to offer,” says Barbara O’Laughlin who manages the center on behalf of UIC Center for Literacy. “Our resources and training materials incorporate current research and best practices in the field of early education.”
The center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For weekend and evening hours and group reservations call (312) 733-3134. The facility is located in a self-contained space within the second floor library at Malcolm X College. Visitors have free parking in the lot on Jackson Boulevard, directly across the street from the college.
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