At its opening in September 1974, the Campus and Community Children’s Center (CCCC) at SUNY Fredonia welcomed 25 preschoolers. Now, with approximately 30 employees and numerous student volunteers from SUNY Fredonia and Jamestown Community College, the center provides care to 150 to 175 children each week.
The CCCC, under the direction of Judy Metzger, currently operates both early childhood and school-age programs at two sites: the Early Childhood and Summer Day Camp at Thompson Hall, and the Before School Program and After School Club at the Wheelock School. With its $600,000 annual budget, the center serves both the community and the campus by providing child care as well as serving as a training site for the required educational field experiences of both SUNY Fredonia and Jamestown Community College students. The center also partners with organizations such as the local Child Care Council, Success by Six, and the Chautauqua County Association for the Education of Young Children.
In addition to being one of the first centers in the SUNY system to receive national accreditation from the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, a division of the National Association of Educators of Young Children (NAEYC), the CCCC has earned accreditation five times.
In 2003, the center’s School-age Programs earned accreditation from the National School-age Care Alliance, which is now the National Afterschool Association (NAA). The CCCC is the first school-age program in all of Western New York to earn this accreditation, which has since been re-accredited through 2010.
The center operates on “blended funding.” This includes parents’ fees, which are the primary revenue source, and SUNY grant money for student families. In addition, the New York State Labor Management Child Care Advisory Committee, which represents the major state unions, provides grant money for state employees, while the center’s school-age programs for five- to 12-year-olds are supported by the Northern Chautauqua County United Way.
These funders mandate that the CCCC’s Early Care and Education program serves SUNY students, faculty and staff needs, as well as those of other state employees in its Early Childhood Program for two- to five-year-olds. However, 40 to 50 percent of the slots serve the community at large. School-age programs are available to all families on a first-come, first-served basis.
Today the CCCC’s mission is to provide quality, developmentally appropriate care and education to the children of student and working families. The center partners with parents and provides a model of advocacy for children, families and teachers. It is administered with attention to the needs of its children, parents and staff. The programs are “developmentally appropriate” and are staffed by adults who understand child development and are committed to professional development
