{"id":371,"date":"2023-04-07T15:59:38","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T15:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/?p=371"},"modified":"2023-04-07T15:59:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T15:59:38","slug":"northern-arizona-university-to-open-early-childhood-education-center-this-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/2023\/04\/07\/northern-arizona-university-to-open-early-childhood-education-center-this-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Arizona University to open early childhood education center this spring"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"asset-masthead  container-breakout\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<header class=\"asset-header\">\n<h1 class=\"headline\">Northern Arizona University to open early childhood education center this spring<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta\">\n<ul>Arizona Daily Sun, Abigail Kessler, Jan 6, 2023<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"asset-content\" data-asset-uuid=\"a2b50d4a-8635-11ed-8f42-8b818de6ebf9\">\n<div id=\"asset-top-feature\">\n<div class=\"asset-photo card\">\n<figure class=\"photo layout-horizontal hover-expand letterbox-style-default\">\n<div class=\"image\" data-toggle=\"modal\" data-target=\".modal-b7bb3736-824e-11ed-b1c3-739dfc6d6437\">\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive full tnt-restrict-img-b7bb3736-824e-11ed-b1c3-739dfc6d6437 default\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/azdailysun.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/b\/7b\/b7bb3736-824e-11ed-b1c3-739dfc6d6437\/63a4e563f2c2d.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800\" alt=\"NAU To Open Early Childhood Education Center\" width=\"1763\" height=\"1175\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption\">Tori Damjanovic, an assistant professor of teaching and learning at Northern Arizona University, stands in front of the bookcase in her office in late December. Damjanovic is currently working on opening an early childhood education center for kids of university students and staff.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"credit\"><span id=\"author--asset-b7bb3736-824e-11ed-b1c3-739dfc6d6437\" class=\"tnt-byline asset-byline\">Rachel Gibbons, Arizona Daily Sun<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-text-row\">\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"lee-track-in-article asset-content \">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul class=\"social-share-links hidden-print list-inline square-color\">\n<li class=\"social-share-link copy\"><button class=\"copy btn-link\" data-container=\"body\" data-toggle=\"manual\" data-placement=\"top\" data-content=\"Article link copied to clipboard\" data-copy-inline-a2b50d4a-8635-11ed-8f42-8b818de6ebf9=\"\"><span class=\"sr-only\">Copy article link<\/span><\/button><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"in-article-byline text-muted lee-article-text padding-bottom\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text first-p\">\n<p>Northern Arizona University (NAU) will be opening an early childhood learning and development center in the spring to provide learning opportunities in Flagstaff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>It is planned to launch in the Flagstaff Middle School building in March, with two pilot classrooms that will have room for 25 children between 3 and 5 years old. Priority for the first placements will go to NAU students and faculty, though the goal is to expand the space eventually to serve the wider Flagstaff community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>The program recently received a $1.8 million C-CAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) grant to provide tuition scholarships, pay teachers and purchase materials over the next four years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>The majority of that funding is expected to go toward scholarships for undergraduate, masters and doctoral students who meet financial Pell eligibility requirements \u2014 which will pay between 75% and 100% of tuition for their children to attend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cThe goal there is that they basically don\u2019t have to worry about the cost of care and they\u2019ll also have their children at the highest-quality site in the area,\u201d said Tori Damjanovic, COE assistant professor and principal investigator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Eventually, Damjanovic said, the plan is to expand to include kids between the ages of 1 and 5 in a space on NAU\u2019s campus. Flagstaff has a higher need for care for 1- and 2-year-olds, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cFor those younger ages there\u2019s just not a lot available,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Rather than a daycare, the center will be a \u201cteacher education lab school,\u201d where teachers provide research-based best practices and serve as mentors to students in the university\u2019s early childhood education blended unified program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>The center is meant to serve several purposes, Damjanovic said: providing high-quality childcare close to campus for students, faculty and staff, a place for teachers and pre-service teachers to see best practices in action, a way to provide resources for both community members and teachers in training as well as a space where other NAU programs can collaborate on research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cHopefully at some point we\u2019ll be a resource center for the whole community for special education, resources,\u201d she said. \u201c &#8230; We\u2019ll be getting the best of the best and really show what good teaching in early childhood looks like.\u201d Damjanovic added: \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a hub where people can not only see research-based practices, but it\u2019s also going to be a site to help people in the community with young children. &#8230; If they need screenings or if they need resources about things available in Flagstaff for families, we\u2019ll be a site for that. I think it really has a lot of layers of importance to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Teachers at the school are required to have at least a bachelor\u2019s degree in early childhood education and will participate in regular classroom professional development to ensure the students are getting the best care possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>As Damjanovic described it, the ideal staff member \u201creally values children\u201d and \u201cis really open to learning new things.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>NAU COE faculty will be helping with the higher-education elements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>They will be seeking NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) accreditation for the center (one of the highest available for early childhood), keeping low classroom ratios and recently hired Rebecca Cirzan as the center\u2019s director.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>The center is also meant as a research site for programs across campus, with students ranging from dental to athletics to science might bring their subjects into the classroom. Speech and language students might make a visit to practice conducting hearing evaluations or speech therapy, for example.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>The college education aspect will include classroom observation and student teaching (one per classroom), taking a \u201cphase in approach\u201d that depends on the student\u2019s level of experience. This could progress from observations through larger group teachings to eventually working at the center after graduation, Damjanovic provided as an example.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cI hope that it gives [our NAU students] some really great role models to look at what a classroom space should look like,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope they take that into the field once they graduate and it changes the way in which they teach, wherever they end up teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>This part of the program is set to start in the fall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>For the early learners the program will take a project-based approach that which focuses on projects using topics the kids are interested in and combining multiple areas of study, instead of teaching subjects on their own. Faculty in NAU\u2019s COE are developing the curriculum based on their experience in the field.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re studying something that they\u2019re really interested in and then you\u2019re folding in math, science, social studies, literacy. But it\u2019s all real-life experiences and hands on,\u201d Damjanovic explained of the project approach. \u201cJust like as adults when we do things, we remember them and we learn more; it\u2019s that same approach but with young children. There\u2019s going to be a really strong focus on the materials and they\u2019re going to be fantastic, very naturalistic.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>The program also has a focus on special education, serving as a model of a combined classroom. Students in NAU\u2019s blended unified program earn a dual degree in early childhood and special education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cIn Flagstaff, there\u2019s just not a lot of spaces available for children with varying abilities,\u201d Damjanovic said. \u201cSo we wanted to have one, make sure we provided that, but also done in a really high-quality way with really highly trained teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>NAU has been trying to develop a childcare program for at least 30 years, Damjanovic said, but hurdles had repeatedly caused setbacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>This iteration came from a conversation between dean Ramona Mellott and NAU President Jose Luis Cruz Rivera about a year ago, leading to the creation of a committee including Damjanovic, Mellott, department of teaching and learning associate professor Jon Lee and COE associate dean Pam Powell, among others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>In May, they found available space in Flagstaff Middle School, allowing them to start making plans. Hearing they had gotten the C-CAMPIS grant in September let the team to start developing the specifics needed to open the center this spring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>Damjanovic hopes the program would provide a model classroom space for aspiring teachers as well as an educational foundation for its students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>\u201cI think it will be great [for the children] because they\u2019re going to get a great developmental preschool education that I believe will give them a great start,\u201d she said. \u201c &#8230; We want them to build their self-esteem, their social-emotional learning, not just academic skills, but then really become critical thinkers and problem solvers \u2014 which will help them succeed later in school and life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden-print \">\n<div class=\"ad-col visible-lg visible-md\">\n<div class=\"tnt-ads-container text-center hidden-print hidden-xs\">\n<div id=\"article-breakout-desktop-6\" class=\"tnt-ads dfp-ad dfp-unit-requested dfp-rendered dfp-creative-138232719333 dfp-line-item-4667239813\" data-dfp-adunit=\"\/8438\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/education\" data-dfp-custom-pos=\"article-breakout, stf, btf, 60\" data-dfp-size=\"[[970,250],[970,90],[728,90]]\" data-lazy=\"true\" data-google-query-id=\"CNvPmYSRmP4CFdUrRAgdSGgIqQ\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/8438\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/education_7__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lee-article-text\">\n<p>A website for the program is underway. It includes an intake form for families to apply to enroll their kids (aged 3 to 5) in the program. Only 25 spaces are available in the first class, with NAU students, faculty and staff as priorities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-asset inline-video  tnt-inline-asset tnt-inline-relcontent tnt-inline-video tnt-inline-relation-child tnt-inline-presentation-default tnt-inline-alignment-default tnt-inline-width-default\">\n<div class=\"tnt-video-container\" data-provider=\"field59\" data-projection=\"\">\n<div id=\"video-player-2d147e13-4852-5031-8b39-cbab7c3373a1\" class=\"tnt-video video-js vjs-default-skin vjs-big-play-centered vjs-16-9 videojs vjs-7 vjs-paused video-player-2d147e13-4852-5031-8b39-cbab7c3373a1-dimensions vjs-fluid vjs-controls-enabled vjs-touch-enabled vjs-workinghover vjs-v7 vjs-user-active\" lang=\"en\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"region\" data-vast-url=\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ads?env=instream&amp;correlator='+Date.now()+'&amp;description_url=https%3A%2F%2Fazdailysun.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Feducation%2Fvideo_2d147e13-4852-5031-8b39-cbab7c3373a1.html&amp;gdfp_req=1&amp;iu=\/8438\/azdailysun.com\/news\/local\/education&amp;output=vast&amp;sz=640x480%7C640x360%7C400x300%7C1920x1080%7C426x240%7C1290x720&amp;unviewed_position_start=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fazdailysun.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Feducation%2Fvideo_2d147e13-4852-5031-8b39-cbab7c3373a1.html&amp;cust_params=k%3Dnews%2Fstate-and-regional%26v%3Dfield59%26version%3D0823&amp;hl=en&amp;wta=0&amp;is_lat=0\" data-premium=\"\" data-visible=\"true\" data-duration=\"180\" data-provider=\"field59\" data-title=\"High Inflation Rates Are Making Child Care Costs Rise\" data-uuid=\"2d147e13-4852-5031-8b39-cbab7c3373a1\" aria-label=\"Video Player\">\n<ul>\n<li><button class=\"copy btn-link\" data-container=\"body\" data-toggle=\"manual\" data-placement=\"top\" data-content=\"Article link copied to clipboard\" data-copy-inline-a2b50d4a-8635-11ed-8f42-8b818de6ebf9=\"\"><span class=\"sr-only\">Copy article link<\/span><\/button><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vjs-poster\" aria-disabled=\"false\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"vjs-text-track-display\" aria-live=\"off\" aria-atomic=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\" multimedia-inline-figcaption\"><figcaption class=\"caption\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"trinity-skip-it\">\n<div data-spotim-module=\"pitc\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"spotim-specific\" class=\"\" data-openweb-style-wrapper=\"true\">\n<div data-spot-im-direction=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"ads__index__adUnitWrapper--sM9iv ads__index__directionLeft--V6Ivs ads__index__recirculation--DvOkj\">\n<div class=\"ads__index__elementWrapper--aQSqV\" data-spotim-module=\"pitc\" data-ad-unit-id=\"recirculation-pitc-sp_Rxkpy20H-homepage-1-1\">\n<div class=\"spotim-light\" data-openweb-style-wrapper=\"true\">\n<div data-spot-im-direction=\"ltr\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"index__pitc___XGuz2 index__adBeforeContent___3xK7V\" data-nosnippet=\"true\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"resize-manager__resizeManagerContainer___1QT8Z\">\n<div class=\"resize-manager__carouselContainer___iqd7I\">\n<div class=\"carousel__carouselContainer___14uXs\">\n<div class=\"carousel__startSidebar___2FDPv\">\n<div class=\"carousel__leftButtonContainer___jpEIm\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Northern Arizona University to open early childhood education center this spring Arizona Daily Sun, Abigail Kessler, Jan 6, 2023 Tori Damjanovic, an assistant professor of teaching and learning at Northern Arizona University, stands in front of the bookcase in her office in late December. Damjanovic is currently working on opening an early childhood education center [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":734,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/734"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":372,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions\/372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/early-learning-development-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}