The Patriot

Issue date: 1/22/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Special to The Patriot The Center for the Child, shown in this rendering, is under construction and scheduled to open in August. The center is accepting applications from those who want to enroll their children in the childcare program.

As construction on the Gail and Terry Richardson Center for the Child continues to progress, so do the center's visions for what it hopes to achieve for the children who attend the childcare program.

The latest enrollment figures have surpassed early projections for the center, which is set to open in August, according to Frances "Bunchie" Roberts, child care director for the center. Roberts, however, declined to provide the exact number of applicants.

"I'm very pleased with the amount of interest (so far)," Roberts said. "In fact, we're a little above what I thought we'd be at this point."

She said several students and some members of the community have applied to enroll their children in the program.

One of the main objectives of the center is to serve children from all backgrounds.

Though early enrollment figures suggest that goal will be met, Roberts said she would like to see a more varied attendance once the center opens.

"At this time, I would say it's fairly diverse (but) not as diverse as I would like it to be," she said.

She thinks a diverse atmosphere will be beneficial to the students conducting observations.

"We want to make sure we have a really diverse population of children," Roberts said. "It's important for our early childhood development students to be able to work with people of all races (and) economic statuses..."

To draw more focus to the center, the university plans to amp up its public relations efforts, according to Kathy Andrews, director of marketing and publications.

"We're planning a billboard and targeted mailing lists to parents of preschool children in the Florence area," Andrews said. "We're also distributing flyers to local industries - DuPont, Smurfit-Stone and Roche Carolina."

Roberts said procedures for enrollment are fairly simple

"All (parents) have to do is call me," Roberts said. "I have applications. There is a $75 fee to hold a space for the child, and sometime in the spring, I will have a full enrollment process where these parents come in and fill out lots of paperwork, and then we'll go over orientation."

Continued...

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