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Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC)
Peoria School District #150
Peoria, Illinois
The Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Education Center provides care and education in a developmentally appropriate "laboratory school" while enabling Peoria School District #150 to develop and refine early childhood programs and curricula. Guided by the philosophy that "all children can learn," the innovative center operates year round and serves 400 at-risk children, ages three through seven.
Upon entering the program, children join one of the Center's four villages. Each houses three multi-age pre-primary and two multi-age primary classrooms, with a conference room, kitchen, and faculty planning office. Central to the villages, a multi-purpose Activity Room is used for motor-skills development and group functions while specialized group activities take place in the Learning Center and Library.
Faculty utilize the Professional Development Center to access curriculum and resource materials. A lending library, sibling care center, lounge, and other features accommodate parents. The Center also serves as a delivery point for health screening, social services, community education, and intervention programs, and functions as a professional development school to offer advanced training in the specialty of early childhood education.
LZT participated early in the planning process to ensure the facility's unique program requirements were well understood prior to design. The 63,000 sf building brings teachers, parents, and students together as a community to focus on the success and well-being of each child.
Special features: Facilities include 21 classrooms, a Learning Center and Library for specialized group learning, a professional development center for reference materials, parents' library, day care center, conference and meeting facilities, administration and reception areas. |
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EXPERIENCE
