AWC's new child learning lab gives kids a boost

A ribbon cutting ceremony for a state-of-the-art classroom building at Arizona Western College ushered in a new era for early childhood development Thursday, college officials said.

The new Child Development Learning Laboratory (CDLL) that opened Aug. 18 for children of faculty, staff and students is being prepared for spring classes beginning in January, said Alison Keough, the lab's director. The ribbon cutting ceremony was Thursday.

"Its main purpose is top provide a practice space for students majoring in early childhood development and education," Keough said.

Currently there are twelve part-time and six full-time staff as well as three student volunteers and more than 500 students who have volunteered for temporary assignments since doors opened in the summer, Keough noted.

The CDLL building is one of the first to come online since a 2004 voter-approved $74 million bond passed. An additional $3 million from the AWC foundation fund drive helped complete the 250,000 square foot classroom, lab, and program space.

Keough praised the cutting-edge facility that includes a multipurpose room for early childhood education classes and various events for children such as having English as a Second Language students reading aloud to toddlers. Other features include tri-fold doors opening off each classroom that expand the space to an enclosed porch areas to provide an indoor/outdoor environment without leaving the building.

There are also "nana walls" made of glass allowing greater visibility for staff to keep in contact with children, provides more natural light, and permit students to observe classes without interrupting them.

A U-shaped playground was set up surrounded by classrooms so they all have easy access. Accessories such as slides, a climbing wall, tricycle path and sand boxes are designed to blend in with the landscape.

"It has a lot of natural surfaces, rubber padding, a lot of plants and trees, a fountain in the courtyard," Keough said.

The ribbon cutting ceremony invited all those who helped spearhead the bond campaign as well as the AWC governing board, directors of Citizens for Lifelong Learning and the mayor's office. Speakers included Don Schoening, AWC president and Alicia Valdez, AWC secretary of the district governing board.

Following the unveiling of a dedication plaque, refreshments were served and children participated in playtime activities. Tours were also given with staff in classrooms to answer questions.

An advantage over the old facility is that now office space for early childhood and education faculty are in the same building that provides opportunity to work as a team and there is continuity of the program as a whole between teaching and hands-on-work experience, Keough noted.

"It's a unique, state-of-the-art building and a model for the best practices in early childhood development," she said.

The new building also allows the program to expand the number of class sections for students as well as broaden the program to accommodate newborns from 6 weeks and toddlers to 5 years old.

Research has shown that brain development begins at birth and interaction with adults is necessary for infants to make vital brain connections and mature, said Judy Watkinson, AWC early childhood professor. It is critical that newborns to 3-year-old children participate in conversations, singing and playing, because without interaction those vital brain connections cannot progress.

"Play is the child's learning tools and I'm very passionate about this," Watkinson said. "A lot of parents are skeptical about learning through play but it is an essential part of the whole learning process and provides vital social interaction."

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William Roller can be reached at wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.