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The University of Maine’s Child Study Center is facing closure due to budget cuts announced last spring.
The center, which celebrated its 72nd anniversary this year, is one of the oldest established programs on the University of Maine campus. As the UMaine Psychology Department’s laboratory school, the Child Study Center has educated and trained more than 1,000 UMaine students and has taught more than 2,000 pre-schoolers. Despite slashed funding, the center plans to continue through the newly formed Child Study Center Parents Association and increased fundraising such as the alumni weekend yard and bake sale, which it held Saturday.
Karen Belknap, assistant head teacher at the center, said at the yard sale that — despite the budget gap — she’s feeling hopeful.
Belknap said many people in the UMaine community donated to the fundraiser.
“Even university people heard our plight and brought stuff. It’s great. We’re trying to stay open for another 70 years,” Belknap said.
The CSC is a one-room facility with a fenced-in playground. Characterized by an observation room with a one-way mirror, the center serves to educate children and provide work experience to UMaine students, while providing opportunities for research and study in child development. The center is staffed by two full-time teachers and work-study students. Psychology students fulfilling class and lab requirements as well as volunteers contribute to the center, which is open five days a week, 14 weeks a semester — following UMaine’s academic calendar.
The center’s observation booth offers a vantage point to study the interactions among children. It is open to parents, teachers and UMaine students during the hours of the center’s operation. Ruth Thyen, president of the Child Study Parents Association said, “[The observation booth] is a neat experience. I love sitting back here talking [with parents].”
The Child Study Center Parent Association — formed in response to the proposed budget cuts, is in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) Nonprofit status. The association organizes fundraisers such as the alumni weekend yard and bake sales, and consistently applies for grants — like its recently awarded Maine Agriculture in the Classroom grant.
Thyen commutes from Howland — more than 50 miles a day — bringing her daughters to the center.
“[We] knew right away that this was the program [for us],” Thyen said.
She described how her family searched the Bangor area for preschool programs that would meet her daughters’ needs. Even though Thyen’s daughters could attend preschool programs in Howland, she opts to make the commute, as do several other parents. One unique aspect of the center, according to Thyen, is the interaction observed between college students and pre-kindergarteners. She sees it as an invaluable experience.
“It triggers a lot in [the child’s] mind — that personal interaction with student teachers,” Thyen said.
Maine First Lady Karen Baldacci is in agreement, as demonstrated by her Oct. 16 visit to the center. She read to the children and was presented with a commemorative study center UMaine teddy bear and a pumpkin pie. Baldacci is co-chair of the Maine Children’s Growth Council, a group that facilitates and studies the effects of the affiliation between higher education and child development.
Kevin Duplissie, head teacher at the study center, was pleased with the visit.
“[Baldacci] met with families afterward. She appeared to be surprised at how little [funding] we need … and offered us suggestions,” Duplissie said.
Duplissie estimates the center will need between $10,000 and $15,000 to continue operations for another academic year before the study center can work on endowment fundraising. The funds for the 2009-2010 academic year were provided by donation, fundraising and out-of-pocket sources.
“When news came, parents rallied. We put the [parent association] together from scratch. It’s a really tight knit community and the [parent association] makes a huge difference,” Thyen said.
