Early Childhood Education to give tours of new lab, resource center at Explore IVCC event

Students in Illinois Valley Community College’s Early Childhood Education program returned to campus this fall to find their conventional college classroom had been transformed into a child’s wonderland that gives the adults space to explore and practice what they learn.

At the Explore IVCC event on Tuesday, Nov. 7, prospective students and community childcare providers also will get a chance to see the remodeled lab in D-214 and resource center in D-208. ECE students and faculty will give guided tours from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The transformation is IVCC’s part of a $200 million state initiative to address academic and socio-economic barriers to establishing a better trained and better paid professional workforce. The plan aims to put a university education and credentials within easier reach of more people who are already working in childcare, preschools and classrooms, while supporting those professionals who return to college to complete their degrees.

The 61 colleges and universities all established mentor programs to guide and support, and tailored programs to meet local needs such as transportation assistance, flexible attendance schedules and academic and other support. A state-funded scholarship that covers education costs was established.

While the initiative is aimed at adults, ultimately, “the whole focus is about what that child needs. That child needs a highly trained, qualified teacher in each classroom,” said ECE Program Coordinator Tammy Landgraf.

IVCC focused on supplementing supplies, such as providing students with computer laptops, establishing workstations to link worksites to the college for training and reference purposes, creating a lending library of children’s books and materials and providing classroom toolkits for online scholars to complete the courses.

IVCC also is making updated textbooks available to students through Jacobs Library so they don’t have to buy them.