“Without play, children don’t learn,” said John Malone, Treasurer of Foundations Early Learning and Family Center in Fairfield.
And he should know. Last year, Foundations became the first early learning center in Jefferson County to receive the maximum score from the Alabama Quality STARS system, which rates the quality of childcare operations across the state.
That’s why, when Foundations needed to move into a new location last year, United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA) helped fund the construction of the center’s new playgrounds. Each of the two new outdoor play areas is tailored to the needs and abilities of different age groups and has allowed the center to expand their capacity to serve 20 more children.
“At Foundations, we work on childhood development through a variety of avenues, including physically, socially, spiritually and cognitively. Children are not simply playing,” Malone said. “They are learning through that activity. It’s a huge component of child development.”
UWCA funding came through the Early Learning Acceleration Institute (ELAI), which is a collaboration involving UWCA, Childcare Resources, Women’s Foundation of Alabama and other local partners, all working to improve access to, and capacity of, high-quality early-learning programs.
Through ELAI, childcare business owners have access to professional development and technical assistance, as well as grant funding for capacity and quality improvements at their facilities. Administrators at Foundations said they could potentially double the center’s previous capacity at its new location, and age-appropriate playgrounds are a factor in determining the number of children a DHR-certified center can serve.
In operation since the fall of 2013, Foundations was started by Executive Director Tanja Malone, PhD, who is married to John. Tanja was first introduced to the Fairfield community around the year 2000 while doing doctoral research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She opened Foundations with the intention of raising families’ expectations for childcare. But she credits the teachers and other staff for the center’s success and recognition from the State.
“Our staff is phenomenal. The five stars are only the result of what they do,” Tanja said. “Of course, we as the administration, want those high marks, but we wouldn’t have received them if our staff didn’t want it just as much as we do.”
The partnership with United Way is crucial to expansion, Tanja said, because income from the childcare that Foundations provides for families would not generate enough revenue alone to pay for the recent improvements.
Foundations is only one of the 24 childcare centers that UWCA has funded through its ELAI Expansion Grant program. Collectively, those centers have already expanded their capacity to serve 312 more children, with more than 1,000 children gaining access to high-quality centers once all the grants are complete.
Just recently, eight more centers were awarded money to further increase their capacity. That list includes:
- Bloom Grow Blossom Learning Center in Center Point
- City of Lights Learning Academy in Dora
- Happy Tots Childcare in Birmingham
- It’s Only the Beginning Child Care Center in Midfield
- J. Alex Child Development Center in Center Point
- Kiddy City in Midfield
- South Shelby Early Learning Center in Calera
- Vinehouse Nursery in Alabaster
For more information about UWCA’s work in Early Childhood Development and Education, click here.