Child care providers offer vision for new facility

Developers of the McKenzie Meadows subdivision have promised two things to the community of Sisters: a new early child care center; and a senior center.

Earlier this month, Bill Willitts, owner of FivePine Lodge and Conference Center and one of the partners developing McKenzie Meadows, gathered a group of child care providers together to brainstorm about the make-up of the new center.

The group suggested a look at new early childhood facilities that are in the works in Redmond, Madras and La Pine.

"The one thing that I think they did really right in Madras that has not happened in the other two is that there is an all-purpose room which can be made smaller for smaller groups, and it is also a big room where kids can ride tricycles and run and build and all of that with classrooms on the periphery. To me, that is the best part," said Betty Shuler, early care and education director for NeighborImpact.

Consensus abounded for having a large, outside play area. According to Evelyn Brush, owner of A Joyful Noise Learning Center in Sisters, a large section of the area should be covered.

"They need shade and cement," she said.

An area should be incorporated into the center that is comfortable and quiet for moms with babies to retreat for privacy, the group noted.

Developing the facility to accommodate older children up to age 12 after school was also noted as very important, as was the need to collaborate with SOAR (Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation) regarding this service.

"Maybe we're providing the quiet, intellectual space, and these kids might just walk down to SOAR for activities," said Willitts.

Care providers want the kids to stay away from television and video hookups.

"Perhaps integrated children's learning computers (should be available). I'm not going to throw that out, because I think there's future opportunity there," said Willitts.

The group also identified the need to provide bilingual exposure.

"We have parents seeking preschool Spanish classes. We've got Spanish (speaking) kids being taken care of by other Spanish (speaking) parents but not integrating in," said Brush.

The need to offer parenting classes to help individuals become better parents was high on the list of priorities, as was the need for the center to provide a bus service, possibly partnering with the school district and/or SOAR.

"We've got enough buses floating around; we can find a way to make it work," said Willitts.

Brush pointed out the urgent need for infant and toddler care in the Sisters area and the importance of providing a space in the new facility to care for these children. She also noted that offering this care at affordable rates is very difficult. Sarina Henderson, owner of Duck Duck Goose Acada-Me in Sisters and a provider of infant and toddler care, agrees.

All seemed to concur that fees at the new center should be on a sliding scale.

"My philosophy has always been a Robin Hood philosophy that yes we have to keep the gate charge extremely low, but on the other hand if you are affluent maybe you have the opportunity to give more generously even beyond the highest rate, because you have the opportunity to support another child in the community. This is the kind of community that would hear that...," said Willitts.

Willitts also advocates bringing local employers on board to help with the development of the center.

"I think this (the child care center) is a huge asset to the community. I know that the school superintendent (Elaine Drakulich) believes that having an exemplary child facility on campus is going to make it easier for her to hire qualified teachers," he said.