Marilyn Jacobson: Region needs EvCC’s Early Learning Center
Published 1:30 am Saturday, February 26, 2022
By Marilyn Jacobson / Herald Forum
The Everett Community College Early Learning Center (ELC) is far more than a childcare program available for ECC student parents who need child care while they attend college (“Fate of EvCC’s Early Leraning Center remains hazy,” The Herald, Feb. 2).
This service is essential to help parents who are striving to get out of poverty by improving their skills. Even if this were the only benefit ELC provided, I would support the program. However, the Center has a far-reaching impact that the article failed to mention, and that is what I want to address.
I am a retired teacher and early childhood consultant. When I was an education coordinator with Snohomish County Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program I worked closely with the ELC. The Learning Center at that time not only offered a very high-quality experience for children, but also provided valuable parenting classes and opportunities for participating parents to volunteer in the classrooms and learn first-hand how the teachers supported children’s learning and emotional development. I assume the same high-quality service I observed is still in operation.
There is one more huge benefit this program provides. We’ve all heard about the lack of available quality child care and early education for young children in Washington state. We’ve also heard of legislative talk about providing for affordable universal child care and preschool. If access to free early childhood education becomes a reality, where will the qualified staff come from?
This is the huge elephant in the room! Everett Community College offers several academic programs designed to develop the skills needed to be a successful early childhood professional. Students in this program need a lab to gain hands-on experience. This is a very high quality program. I would have given my eye tooth to learn at this center when I was a student.
If our community is going to expand early childhood education, which will eventually benefit us all, then there must be ample training programs to increase the number of qualified staff to support new programs!
Marilyn Jacobson lives in Mukilteo.
