Closed Childcare Facilities Crucial to Students
Tensions rise as Green River College (GRC) deliberates further action for an on-campus childcare center facility for students.
Over a year ago, GRC’s childcare center was shut down, with most of its patronage coming from non-GRC-affiliated customers. The childcare center, hosted by the school, was actually run by a private third-party childcare company. The Children’s Home Society, who would send staff and faculty to manage the facilities and provide childcare services and expertise, was previously managing the childcare facilities before the project was put on hold by the college.
The land for the childcare facilities was donated to the college by a private owner on the condition that it be used solely for the purpose of providing childcare services that are simple and convenient for student parents who otherwise may be forced to use sub-par, unaffordable, far-away childcare facilities, or even have to bring their young children to class with them.
Currently, student parents have no on-campus option for childcare. The closest option is Covington KinderCare, which has a waitlist and relatively hefty enrollment fees. Furthermore, an enrollment-based childcare facility would come with its own set of disadvantages for student parents, such as the inability to drop your child off for just an hour or two during classes, and no late evening hours for students who balance work during the day and school at night. These issues would be solved by an on-campus childcare facility available strictly for GRC students.
The current state of Green River’s childcare building, which is located just south of Lea Hill Park, is up in the air. However, there is speculation about collaboration with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and GRC to create a new childcare program for student parents using the currently abandoned Green River property.
We “need to focus on our students,” said Early Achievers Program Coordinator Diana Holz, from the Early Childhood Education Department (ECED). “There is currently no option that the college provides,” Holz continued when asked about what students do for childcare since the loss of the previous childcare center, where the only option was full-time daycare rather than simply a few hours here and there that student parents would require while in class.
The Green River College ECED is naturally very passionate about expanding the department and childcare facilities on campus. The ECED will be heading a new four-year program this upcoming fall quarter for a Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Mental Health, making GRC one of just four colleges in America that offer this specific program.
“We have high standards for Early Childhood Education here,” says Leslie Kessler, the department head, who also noted it only makes sense that Green River would hold high standards for any third-party collaboration that may happen with the on-campus childcare center. “We hope to bring back some sort of childcare facility for parent students as early as this fall,” Holz added.
However, the potential collaboration for the childcare center doesn’t end with the YMCA. Another option would potentially involve the school, giving Early Childhood Education students hands-on experience as well as cutting costs of running a childcare center. This would be done through the introduction of a program which would allow students in the ECED to work or volunteer at the on-campus childcare center. This would not only grow the confidence of the students who are learning about child development and caregiving but also give them work experience that would be invaluable for their careers after graduating from GRC.
Green River’s ability to capitalize on the childcare center would be beneficial for not only the school by saving money, but also the student parents, their children, and the students in the early childhood care programs.
