For more information on the following story, contact James Stroud at [email protected] or (765) 285-8563.
STATE CREATES FIRST EARLY CHILDHOOD INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The first clearing house for information and research on early childhood education will be housed at Ball State University.
Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon announced the creation of the Indiana Center for Early Childhood Education during a press conference Monday at an Indianapolis day care center.
The project is a partnership between the state, Ball State and Ivy Tech State College, with state government allocating about $177,000 to create it. It is the first state-level center of its kind. The center will collect the latest research into helping children develop, evaluate that research and determine practical ways to put the information to work.
"There's a lot of exciting information out there on helping children grow and thrive - and more turns up every day," O'Bannon said. "Some of the information is as basic as looking your child in the eye or reading to your child. Some of it is very sophisticated. The challenge, as with so much else in this Information Age, is to find the information when you need it.
"This will put Indiana at the forefront of education's newest frontier," he said. "And of course, the knowledge it collects and makes available will benefit children and caring adults nationwide and all over the world."
The governor re-allocated monies from existing state funds to help create the center. The project was originally proposed in O'Bannon's State of the State Address in 1999 but was never passed by the Indiana General Assembly.
Ball State will house the center in its Teachers College with James Stroud, an elementary education professor, and Christi Szakaly, grant development officer, serving as co-directors. Stroud believes the center is long overdue because parents need all the information possible to make proper choices when considering child care facilities for their children.
It also should help in elevating the professional status of the child care field, he said.
"It represents a step forward for Indiana," Stroud said. "I think the winners will be the children and families of Indiana because the center will have the latest, updated information on child care issues.
"People will access the center through toll-free phone numbers, Web sites and most child care centers," he said. "Before this information was not easily accessible. A central clearing house will allow parents to make decisions much easier."
Roy Weaver, dean of Teachers College, said he was looking forward to working with Ivy Tech State College officials on the project.
"We welcome the early childhood community to help Indiana's young children reach their fullest potential," he said. "The opportunity builds upon a long history of commitment to working on behalf of children and families to improve their quality of life."
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Stroud at [email protected] or (765) 285-8563. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news on the World Wide Web.)
Marc Ransford
4/11/00
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