Dale Wares, programs manager, Division of Child Care, reads to children at the Little Jacket Learning Junction in Fairview, Okla. Wares awarded the Fairview Area Association for Childhood Excellence a Community Collaboration Grant to open a high-quality child care facility after the only child care center in the rural Major County town closed down.
Elaine Hutchison never expected to be scraping 40-year-old paint, grease and motor oil off the walls of her son’s future child care center. After the only child care center in Fairview, Okla., closed, the high school teacher’s priorities took an unexpected turn.
“When the other center closed, several of us families were without options for child care,” said Hutchison. “Several parents and community leaders began looking at choices for quality child care. A group of parents formed the Fairview Area Association for Childhood Excellence (FAACE). We didn’t want just another center, we wanted quality that the community could be proud of.”
Hutchison and FAACE dreamed of providing “stimulating, developmentally appropriate activities where children are read to daily and teachers and staff with early childhood educational backgrounds and training.”
Several churches and citizens donated money and equipment. Attorneys and accountants offered their services and advice. Lion’s Club, Mother’s Club, Sooner Success, Oklahoma Parents as Teachers and Catholic Charities all offered support, but the biggest obstacle proved to be finding a location.
“It’s very hard to sell a plan when there’s no building. That made it hard for people to commit to the project,” said Hutchinson, who volunteers at the center, which is licensed for 35, and serves as president of the facility’s board of directors.
The group eventually found a former senior citizen’s center that had later become a car repair garage.
The group turned to the OKDHS Division of Child Care, which offers Community Collaborative Grants to help communities address unmet child care needs. Fairview families only had access to one-star child care and many more children needed care than places available. Dale Wares, programs manager and 12-year OKDHS employee, approved their proposal for nearly $25,000.
“The grant requires that community’s show community collaboration, evidence of need, goals and a detailed budget,” said Wares. “The Fairview Area Association for Childhood Excellence has filled a crucial role in the lives of children.”
Volunteers, as well as trustees from the Major County sheriff’s office, helped transform the building into Little Jacket Learning Junction, a vibrant, comfortable, challenging center for Oklahoma’s youngest citizens.
Hutchison said the two-star center, which opened in the fall of 2005, hopes to apply for national child care accreditation soon.
“It’s been such a blessing that we have been able to get established,” said Hutchinson, helping her son, Sawyer, transform into Spider-Man. “We’ve exceeded what we had dreamed about – we have more space, more kids. We’ve done a good job for a rural community.”