NEWS
Last Friday, an official statement sent from Publicist Mary Platt declared that an accumulated $500,000 deficit from the past four years has led Chapman to close the Children’s Center Sept. 30 with no intention of re-opening it. The center has been in operation for 27 years and is located in the First Methodist Church on South Orange Street, with 67 children ages two to five years old enrolled.
Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Harold Hewitt referred all questions to Platt, director of Communications and Media Relations, who could not comment on the issue.
“[Hewitt] and I are saying that what we listed out on the official statement and the FAQ is basically all we have to say, and we are not going to entertain any other questions about the matter,” Platt said.
The center’s Chapman website has been taken down, replaced with pages explaining why the center closed and some frequently asked questions with answers including whether new families can enroll their children before Sept. 30, and if the university will offer any support to employee families in finding another preschool program. No more families can enroll and Chapman will provide some assistance to employees with children enrolled, but how is not specified, according to the site.
Parents with children at the center were informed last Monday through e-mail about the closing. Nine Chapman employee families have children enrolled at the center, but four were not expected to return in the fall because the children are enrolling in kindergarten. Two families from First United Methodist Church have their children enrolled in the center. The remaining children are from the Orange community.
Chapman’s women’s basketball Coach Carol Jue has been taking her son Carson to the center for the past two years. He is one of the children moving onto kindergarten this fall, but she is sad to know that the center is shutting down.
“It was very reasonable and has great hours,” Jue said. “It is a perk because when you have kids so young, you can still feel close to them while at the University.”
The center was available to students, faculty and staff at reduced prices. It is based on Swiss developmentalist Jean Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory. At the center, the teachers take a less direct approach with the children and merely guide them, allowing the children to learn from natural play and gain independence.
Chapman students from the psychology department also used the center to observe the development of child behavior and students could use the center as a place of employment.
“[The center] is one of the best things and perks we have at Chapman. Not only that, but the [teachers] there are superb,” Jue said. “This has been a great center for everybody. The people that worked it made it what is was and really made it in our community.”
Contact this reporter: breana.fischer@thepantheronline.com
