SAN ANTONIO, TX (Sept. 4, 2009) – The San Antonio College Department of Early Childhood Studies has received a grant of $889,236 from the U.S. Department of Education’s program – Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS).
The award is $222,309 per year for four years. Funds will provide affordable, high quality on-campus early care and education for children of qualifying full-time and part-time students enrolled at SAC.
“This grant means we can keep serving students and making students our primary focus for quality early childhood care and education.” Dr. Ellen Marshall, chair of Early Childhood Studies.
CCAMPIS will only provide funds for students’ children at centers that are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The SAC Early Childhood Center, 210 W. Ashby, is one of 32 such centers in San Antonio and serves as an on-site educational lab facility for the Department of Early Childhood Studies.
There are 16 lab students currently working under supervision at the center. Additional students complete service learning hours and observations at the center. Personnel from other early childhood facilities in San Antonio visit SAC to observe its model program. All of the center’s teachers have degrees – from associate to master’s degrees – in early childhood studies.
Parents with children in the center have to receive student financial aid in order to apply for the tuition subsidy. Marshall said students pay from $25 to $65 a week, depending on their income. The center’s open rate per child/per week is $148.50.
Approximately 80 children, from infants to 4-year-olds, attend the center. The majority are children of SAC students.
For more information, call (210) 486-0500 or visit alamo.edu/sac/ecs.
