{"id":68787,"date":"2023-03-28T08:42:23","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T15:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=68787"},"modified":"2024-08-16T10:29:29","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T17:29:29","slug":"eldc-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/eldc-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"Focusing on the future: NAU celebrates opening of Early Learning and Development Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday, NAU’s Early Learning Development Center, which will provide high-quality early learning for children aged 3-5 years old, held a ribbon-cutting. The ELDC\u2019s pedagogy will focus on inquiry-based learning, inclusionary practices, and reciprocal relationships with families, demonstrating best practices in early childhood education. On Monday evening, they joined President Jos\u00e9 Luis Cruz Rivera<\/strong>, Provost Karen Pugliesi<\/strong>, College of Education Dean Ramona Mellott<\/strong>, Flagstaff Major Becky Daggett, FUSD Superintendent Mike Penca, former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez<\/strong>, teachers and professors and members of the President\u2019s Cabinet and the NAU community to celebrate the center\u2019s opening. It\u2019s been in process for almost 20 months, but it\u2019s been discussed among NAU leadership for 30 years.<\/p>\n

President Cruz Rivera said the center is a fulfillment of a promise that NAU made to its community and the future of its students. He talked about his own experience as a young father\u2014his oldest was born when he was a junior in college.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were several moments during my undergraduate educational career when I was this close to dropping out because I didn\u2019t have adequate childcare, and I didn\u2019t have the means to transport myself and my son to the closest childhood development center,\u201d he told the crowd. He remembered walking around the halls with a form to drop out, an interview with Kmart on his calendar. \u201cMy trajectory would have been very different if faculty hadn\u2019t been there to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pugliesi, who has been a part of these discussions for the 30 years, joined the president in thanking all those who helped bring this to fruition and will continue as the center grows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis represents to me in many ways how it is we pursue both excellence and equity,\u201d she said. \u201cThe early years of development are so important for developing learning capacities and pursuing opportunities without obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she spoke, Harleigh, playing in the kitchen set, solemnly handed cups to Cruz Rivera and General Counsel Michelle Parker<\/strong>, who accepted them with smiles.<\/p>\n

See more photos from the event.<\/a><\/p>\n

When Mellott\u2019s turn came to speak, she remembered her own first pregnancy, which came a month after she arrived at NAU for her first job after graduate school. She was afraid to tell her boss; he was thrilled to hear it, because he thought starting a family here would keep her in Flagstaff.<\/p>\n

It may not have been that, she admitted with a laugh, but she\u2019s still here, and she\u2019s spent her entire career working toward a program like the ELDC so student-parents can get the support they need to continue in school. As dean, she said, every report to the president has included a bullet point highlighting the need for this resource. Hiring Victoria Damjanovic<\/strong>, an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, to spearhead the project and Cirzan to lead the center built on the president\u2019s ambition and the goals of the last 30 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a vision of an exemplary practice,\u201d Cirzan said. \u201cThis is not just another childcare or preschool. It is really important that we are setting the bar for what childcare should look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

The afternoon ended with Harleigh and Cirzan wielding giant scissors as Cruz Rivera and Pugliesi held the ribbon and the other attendees milled around, exploring the hands-on learning opportunities, taking a peek into the future toddlers room\u2014Cirzan noted a critical need for high-quality infant care as well\u2014and watching the children explore. For President Cruz Rivera, it was a vision of the future\u2014not just for today\u2019s Lumberjacks, but for tomorrow\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is we want to recruit all of these 25 kids to be Lumberjacks,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to give students the educational experience of their lifetimes, and they will see no way other than to become Lumberjacks to pursue higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more and apply for enrollment and scholarships, visit the center\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/p>\n

Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
\n(928) 523-8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Monday, NAU’s Early Learning Development Center, which will provide high-quality early learning for children aged 3-5 years old, held a ribbon-cutting. The ELDC\u2019s pedagogy will focus on inquiry-based learning, inclusionary practices, and reciprocal relationships with families, demonstrating best practices in early childhood education. On Monday evening, they joined President Jos\u00e9 Luis Cruz Rivera, Provost…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68787\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}