Chesapeake, VA - Mayor William Ward

Children's Harbor-Chesapeake Broadlawn Enrichment Program

Children's Harbor-Chesapeake is an educational day care facility that primarily serves the Broadlawn public housing community in the northern section of Chesapeake. The facility, formerly the Learning Tree Day Care Center and Early Works Day Care Center, is part of a regional network of day care centers administered by Places and Programs for Children, Inc., and is an important component of the well-established Broadlawn Enrichment Program.

Since the summer of 1985, the City has contributed a portion of its annual CDBG entitlement to support the operation of the Broadlawn Enrichment Program. The Program, which started as an eight-week summer program and later expanded to a year-round effort, includes several elements:

• •An After-School Tutorial Program provides a structured learning and day care environment for 15 school-age children who are in supervised situations after school. It operates Tuesday through Thursday, October through June. A credentialed elementary school teacher coordinates the program with assistance from three Broadlawn community residents who are trained by Children's Harbor-Chesapeake staff to work with pre-school and school-age children and to serve as liaisons to other parents in the community. Participating children are picked up at their schools by Children's Harbor staff and, following Program activities, transported to their homes. This gives staff members an opportunity to talk with parents about their children's progress, their need to assist their children at home, and upcoming activities.
• •A Center-Based School-Age Program for At-Risk Children provides intensive support and programming for six particularly at-risk children and their families. The children are picked up at their schools by staff, participate in Program activities which include more intensified programming and support, and are picked up by their parents at the end of the day.
• •A Summer Enrichment Program serves 20 children during a six-week summer session. The goal is to enhance the children's development and improve their academic performance by providing social, emotional, cognitive, physical and health-related activities for them and their parents, and training for parents to help them with parenting skills and to encourage continued involvement in their children's lives. Transportation and child care are provided for these training sessions, as are breakfast, lunch and snacks for the children, weekly field trips, and transportation services throughout the summer.
• •A Parent-Child Program is designed to teach good parenting skills and to ensure continued parent involvement. It recognizes that cooperative and respectful relationships with parents are important in developing high quality experiences for children. Parents are encouraged to participate to the extent they can and to visit the facility at any time. The Program uses a parent bulletin board, a monthly newsletter, a calendar, parent meetings on requested topics, individual parent-staff conferences, and family social events.
• •A Resident-In-Training Program provides an opportunity for two residents from the Children's Harbor-Chesapeake community to receive training in early childhood education in anticipation of career opportunities, while at the same time providing staff assistance at the facility. One resident receives classroom instruction on a full-time basis, the other receives part-time on-the-job training and serves part-time on the staff. The full-time resident is enrolled at Tidewater Community College with the goal of certification and full-time employment as a Child Development Associate with Children's Harbor. When this occurs, the part-time resident moves up into the full-time slot and a new part-time resident is hired, thus maintaining continuity in the Program.

Contact: Robert Copeland, Director, Intergovernmental Affairs, Youth and Family Services, (757) 382-6191

The United States Conference of Mayors

J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352

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