Springfield’s Every Child Promise initiative on Wednesday dedicated the Lighthouse Child and Daycare Center at Washington Avenue Baptist Church. As KSMU’s Anna Thomas explains, the new addition helps further ECP’s goal of preparing children for learning before kindergarten.
Preschoolers from the Messiah Lighthouse opened the conference with a selection of songs, showing their interest in learning by performing their ABCs and other educational tunes.
Tom Carlson, former mayor of Springfield, says he learned that so much of a child’s development is fixed by the time they’re five years old.
“By the time they’re in the third grade and eight years old, if they’re not reading at grade level, you can predict the number of prison cells you need fifteen years from now,” Carlson said.
The ECP’s goal is to lower the statistic of children not prepared for kindergarten by installing daycare centers that promote learning across the community.
Washington Avenue Baptist Church, the third Lighthouse center, has enough space for 50 plus children in its facility.
Dana Carroll, Springfield child advocate, says churches are a hub in neighborhoods and a prime candidate for this program.
“I believe that our churches sit vacant 90 percent of the time. They are beautiful buildings, like this building, with lots of space but people don’t grace their doors for many hours of the day, and they are in all of our neighborhoods,” Carroll said.
Kimberly Shinn-Brown’s son is already enrolled in a Lighthouse Center, and says there is a balance between the diversity and sense of family that encourages learning.
“I am thrilled that my son gets to be in a classroom with kids who may be similar to him in some ways and may be very different in others ways and he really benefits from that,” Shinn-Brown said.
The ECP is accepting applications for the Lighthouse centers.
The Every Child Promise aims to cut in half the number of local youth who are unprepared to learn upon entering kindergarten. Earlier this year, the group unveiled a 10-year strategic plan toward that goal.
