The Andy Taylor Center for Early Childhood Development hired a site director with two lead teachers and plans to add assistant teachers before the opening on Oct. 2.
The site will open with two classes containing 16-18 students total, which is growing everyday, according to Sara Miller, director of the Early Childhood Development Initiative and associate professor of education
Site Director Kim Hailey was hired in July, with both Marion Campbell and Lily Dean hired more recently to be lead teachers, according to Miller.
“We are licensed for 72, but we don't want to try to open at max capacity,” said Miller.
The center will add a third and fourth class for ages 2 ½ to 5 as the year progresses and more staff is hired, according to Miller.
In 2016, the center conducted a survey followed by focus groups to have a better understanding of what the Farmville community was looking for.
“What we heard from the community, very crystal clear, was that there were not enough options and anyone who lives in the area with really young children will tell you that you need to get on a waiting list at a lot of places to get in. It can take a long time a lot of people reported they weren’t feeling 100 percent satisfied even with the option that they found for different reasons,” said Miller.
There are currently two other operations in the Farmville region that are priced comparable to the Andy Taylor Center, according to Miller who did not name the establishments.
“We do not see ourselves as competing with other people other providers in the region,” said Miller.
“I’m just excited to for Farmville families and the other learning opportunities it will bring,” said Samantha Edwards, the director at Stepping Stones Preschool.
The center’s prices range from $434 to $845, depending on full day or half-day in addition to adding on educational services, according to the Andy Taylor Center’s website.
According to Miller, the Andy Taylor Center has started establishing a scholarship fund to give more families of different income levels the option to enroll their children
“We have limited scholarship funds available now but we are hoping to grow that substantially,” said Miller.
When it comes to including Longwood students looking to learn more about childhood development, Miller added that they are forming ideas about incorporating aspects that will allow for the students to observe and do practicums at the center.
“We don’t have a specific partnership set up yet. We need to get it up and running but I have had numerous conversations with professors in the education department about it who are interested and we have a lot of ideas,” said Miller.
In fall 2015, the center set out to develop a conceptual framework and business plan that would be affiliated with the Longwood campus. Then, in 2016, Miller researched and visited other universities to start envisioning what they wanted for the center.
The site is located in the old lumberyard located on Fourth Street, which started renovations in January 2017. Miller said the center views the space as their “starter home” with plans to expand in the next five years.
In the future, the center has plans to expand the center to accommodate more classrooms with more children, according to Miller.
“We really want to make sure that everyone understands that this center is a service for the whole community from children of faculty staff and students to the broader community member. It’s open to all of them,” said Miller.
