Alamo Community Colleges News & Events

CONTACT FOR SPC:  John Dendy, Public Information Officer
(210) 531-3259
Email:  jdendy@mail.accd.edu

St. Philip's College Has Free Health Screenings for Newborns, Young Chidren

(Image courtesy UT-Austin--Christina Murrey): Children’s play expert Dr. Joe Frost

SAN ANTONIO --- Week of the Young Child observances April 13-19 at St. Philip’s College will be a tribute to both young children and the SPC professionals who make a daily difference in the lives of those children.

The College’s observance celebrates the teachers and policies that bring early childhood education to young children, SPC Early Childhood Studies Department chairperson Pamela E. Ray explained. A half-day of free health screenings awaits young children who visit the college’s Martin Luther King campus April 18. The college also hosts a free event April 16 on the MLK campus that honors San Antonians who make significant impacts on the education of young children, including two SPC adjunct faculty members. That event includes a presentation from a renowned expert in developmentally appropriate children’s play.

“We are excited about our 2008 program,” said Ray. “Children and parents receive free support, and early childhood professionals are recognized on our campus,” said Ray, who is also vice president of advocacy for the San Antonio Association for the Education of Young Children.

St. Philip’s College hosts the Association’s Breakfast of Children’s Champions April 16 from 7 to 9:30 a.m. at the Heritage Room in the Campus Center Building on the SPC-Martin Luther King campus at 1801 Martin Luther King Drive.

The SPC professionals honored at the breakfast are Adjunct Faculty Members Ollie Baker and Lynda Cavazos. Baker accepts the Administrator of the Year award and Cavazos accepts the Higher Education Professional of the Year award. The breakfast keynote speaker is Dr. Joe Frost of The University of Texas at Austin. Frost is an authority on play, child development and safety.

The centerpiece of the college’s Week of the Young Child observances is the SPC Child Check program for children newborn to age 3 on April 18 at the SPC Heritage Room. Children---accompanied by family home providers or from individual families---are checked and kept abreast of the latest in child healthcare from 1 to 4 p.m. Pre-registration by phone is required. For pre-registration contact Pamela E. Ray at (210) 531-4654 or Larry Duron at 531-4898, email lduron@mail.accd.edu.

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE ST. PHILIP’S COLLEGE CHILD CHECK?

The Child Check team links parents and children with community resources. The team also provides families information on effective parenting, discipline and childcare. Members of St. Philip’s College’s multidisciplinary Child Check team come from its Early Childhood Studies, Social Sciences and Nursing Departments, Child Development Center, and Allied Health Department-Occupational Therapy Assistant Program. Invited agencies include Any Baby Can; Parent-Child; WIC; Parent and Child; Brighton Early Intervention; Easter Seals; the San Antonio Police Department’s Family Assistance Crisis Team; and Prevent Blindness Texas. For information contact Pamela E. Ray at (210) 531-4654 or Larry Duron at 531-4898, email lduron@mail.accd.edu.

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About St. Philip’s: St. Philip’s College was founded in 1898 by Bishop James Steptoe Johnston of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church of the West Texas Diocese. Today, St. Philip’s is a multi-campus institution of the Alamo Community Colleges and serves a semester enrollment of nearly 10,000 credit and more than 5,000 continuing education students. St. Philip’s is a Historically Black College and Hispanic Serving Institution and is the only college in the nation that carries this dual designation. As “A Point of Pride in the Community,” St. Philip’s is among the oldest and most diverse community colleges in the United States.