Then and Now.....

In 1983 when I started at the VA Child Care Center, things seemed to be 'simple'.  Nearly 30 years later, we have more educated staff, quality learning tools, greater technology, new hanicapped-accessible facilities and the capacity to serve 20 times more children and families in our community.
State-of-Art-Playground

As the kids came in from playtime recently, it reminded me that when we opened, we didn't have a playground fence, we had only one tire swing and a wooden sandbox with no sand.  Now in 2012 at Stepping Stones Early Learning Center, we have a handicap-accessible playground complete with a ramp so all childen can get to the top of the playground structure.  We have a garden for the children to plant vegetables, a huge covered sandbox (to keep the critter droppings out), a cement trike path to practice being "Sammy Swindel", lots of toys that have their very own storage shed and a huge shade structure over the playground for sun protection.  Now, children are able to play outside even on rainy, drizzly days or very hot ones.

Small First Steps

In 1983 we had six teachers, one cook, a bus driver, a director and 14 children.  Only the director and one teacher had a degree.  We did not have a bus, but rented a van from the Apostolic Church.  Aunt Lucy was a marvelous cook, but we were not in the State Food Program and had no real guidelines.  We washed all the dishes by hand.  We did not have a janitor, so the staff took turns each week cleaning the floors and bathrooms.

We did not have a copier, so staff traced off pages for the children to color.  We did not have any computers for adults or children.  We used adult tables and cut off the legs to make them shorter for the children.  We had no bulletin boards, very few toys or shelves for toys and used large barrels for trash cans.

Children had to go down the hall to the bathrooms and were often made to wait in long lines.  We had one black and white TV.  We were down in the basement and prayed that no one with a handicap would want to enroll, because they could not get down the steps.

We had to fundraise almost every week; soup and salad luncheions, BINGO, Halloween Haunted Houses, July 4th cook outs and bake sales.  Critters were bountiful at the VA Child Care Center- from mice to voles, cockroaches to spiders, snakes to fox under the outdoor shed and the ever-dreaded bats and birds flying about.

Big Leaps

Now in 2012 we have 20 teachers with degrees, 15 assistants, 3 cooks, 3 janitors, 2 administrators and 224 children with room for more.  We have lap tops for the teachers to use with wireless internet, a color copy machine, laminator, resource library and conference and work room.  The children have child size everything, tables, chairs drinking fountains, potties and sinks in their room, lofts to read books in, computers and coming soon, IPads to use in the preschool classrooms thanks to the State Voluntary Preschool Program.  Today we do 1 or 2 fundraisers a year and hire ABC Pest Control to control the critters!

In 1983 we were located in the basement of an old VA building built in 1923 for nurses to stay in while they were in nurses training.  Now we are in a new building build in 2006 for
children and staff.

In 1983 were barely licensed wtih the Departmen of Human Services.  We owed money to the IRS and did not have an accountatnt.

Now we are licensed with the Department of Human Services and Accredited with the National Association for the Education of Young Children for the past 12 years.  We recieved a Quality Rating Scale (QRS) level 5 (5 IS THE HIGHEST RANK POSSIBLE) from the Iowa Department of Human Servies.  We do not owe the IRS money and have an accountatnt for our finances.

In 1983 kids were cute then and in 2012 kids are cute now!

We are very proud to have a long history of growth, change and improved service.  But when I look at THEN and NOW.....I'll take NOW any day!