Power of SUNY

SUNY Fredonia Expands Children's Center

The new Campus and Community Children’s Center at SUNY Fredonia was designed with children’s needs at the forefront. From small square windows approximately one foot off the ground overlooking colorful gardens to miniature toilets and sinks, there’s no question that kids come first around here.

The $4.6 million facility is surrounded by play areas, and allows for infant care at the center — a long sought-after goal — in addition to the toddler and pre-school care it had provided to student parents, community members, and campus employees since it began operating in Thompson Hall in 1974. The center also runs before and after-school programs and a University Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Extension program in Fredonia Central School district rooms.

The new center houses a small gymnasium to accommodate family activities, therapies, and active play when inclement weather limits access to outside playgrounds. It features two infant rooms, two multi-age rooms, a toddler room, three observation rooms, administrative offices, a teacher planning room, small kitchen, and a small group meeting area for all center music and extended projects.

The observation rooms are a valuable educational resource for SUNY Fredonia students enrolled in such programs as Early Childhood Education and Communication Disorders and Sciences to accomplish some required field experience and other research. Similarly, faculty research will be enhanced due to the added capabilities these rooms will offer. The center is also used as a training site for field experiences for students studying sociology, psychology and education at SUNY Fredonia and Jamestown Community College.