Young Children's Program Reopens

College of Education
 
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SUMMARY: COE's Young Children's Program reopens after shutting down in March 2020 due to COVID


The Young Children's Program reopened on January 11, 2021, after being closed since March, 2020 due to the pandemic. We are so happy to have families return and to hear the laughter of children in the halls of Anthony Seeger! The children have quickly become acclimated to their learning environment and the teachers are guiding our young learners as they explore the world around them and provide clues as to what topics they would like to engage with during project work.

We had the pleasure of welcoming two new staff members to our YCP team beginning in January. Ms. Amea Allen is a new lead teacher and Ms. Eileen Gingrich is our new administrative assistant. We are so happy they are with us as our YCP community is much stronger with their presence.

Prior to the reopening, our annual accreditation report for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) was completed, and our NAEYC accreditation is valid through January of 2023. We also had a scheduled inspection by the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) and the program is in compliance with all VDSS regulations. We continue to partner with Harrisonburg City Public Schools as part of the Virginia Preschool Initiative Grant and our partnership with the United Way of Harrisonburg/Rockingham County has enabled several families to attend the YCP on partial scholarships this semester.

As a laboratory school, our mission is to provide high quality care and education to the young children of Harrisonburg and the surrounding communities. Our ability to meet this goal is made stronger by the addition of practicum students to our program. We welcomed several practicum students this semester from EERE. It is a pleasure working with these enthusiastic, eager teacher candidates.

As we look to the fall, our enrollment looks very strong. We do have some openings remaining for fall. For more information, please contact the YCP at youngchildrensprogram@jmu.edu or visit their website.

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Published: Thursday, February 4, 2021

Last Updated: Tuesday, January 3, 2023

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