District News
|
See Student Life for more |
Share - Spanish - Site Map - Contact |
Sign up for our Electronic Newsletter Union Student Safety HelpLine |
Union offers day care programs for young parents
May 14, 2007
Sage Langford plays under the supervision of Union staff. Jan Farris, who organizes Union’s baby room program, said the service helps the academic careers of students who use it. Below, Caretaker Kendra Rojes plays with Jonathan Chacon and Sage Langford in Grove Elementary School’s baby room. The infant-care classrooms are available to Union High School students with children.
by: Jeff Postelwait World Staff Writer
(Reprinted with Permission. This is not an endorsement.)
An early childhood day care 
program for Union High School students is improving the academic careers of young parents, school administrators said.
The program, a cooperative agreement between the district and the Community Action Project in Tulsa County, provides child care to students from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m, Angela Bauer said.
Bauer, the principal at Grove Elementary School, 10202 E. 62nd St., said similar programs are in place at Cedar Ridge and Rosa Parks elementary schools.
"The students have a very nurturing environment, with all materials geared for the infants," Bauer said. "The babies also have a special play area just for them. There is a large six-passenger baby carriage which can be seen on nice days when the teacher takes the babies out for daily strolls around the school."
Jan Farris, who is in charge of Grove's baby room, said Grove's program is in its second year and is already making a difference for young parents.
"In the first year, three moms graduated and went on to college," Farris said. "All of them have been able to complete school and graduate."
Grove said her classroom takes children ages infant to 3 years. 
"Our oldest right now is 22 months old, and our youngest is 5 months old," she said.
Farris is a teacher with a certificate in early childhood education, and two assistants also hold degrees, she said.
Although the program has only a single classroom to work with, the small scale of the operation allows for more individual attention to the children's needs.
"We have three adults to about eight children," she said.
The response from students has been positive as more of them find out about the program and use it as a way to help them get their educations, she said.
"Our parents love having a place to bring their kids," she said.
"They were a little apprehensive leaving their kids at first, but they trust us, and we get very attached to their children and to them as well. It's provided a way for these kids to continue school."
For more information about Union's baby rooms, call 357-6031.
District News Archive