Educare Center of Omaha Dedicates New Building

The Educare Center of Omaha, a state-of-the-art early childhood center, celebrated its grand opening on Thursday, August 14. This $6 million center, located at 22nd and Paul streets on the campus of Kellom Academy, offers year-round care and education for economically disadvantaged children from birth to age five.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies

Nebraska dignitaries, Educare donors, students and staff participated in a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of the center. Providing opening remarks were Gov. Mike Johanns, Rep. Lee Terry, Sonny Foster on behalf of Sen. Ben Nelson, Mayor Mike Fahey, Omaha Public School board member Shirley Tyree, Dick Davis of Davis Insurance and Candice Sledge, an Educare parent.

Public Open House

The public attended Educare’s open house from 4-8 p.m. on Thursday, August 14. Tours of the facility, entertainment and refreshments were offered.

“We invited everyone to attend the open house and share in the unfolding of a state-of-the-art educational program. The Educare center embraces proven early-childhood educational techniques and offers a valuable service to our community,” said Dan Pedersen, President, Susan A. Buffett Foundation.

Collaborative Effort

The Educare center is a collaborative effort involving the Omaha Public Schools, the State of Nebraska and the Susan A. Buffett Foundation. United by the common goal of providing a better future for children and their families, organizers replicated the program established in 2000 by the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago’s inner city. The Ounce of Prevention’s Educare center has become a national model for the effective delivery of comprehensive early childhood care and education in an urban setting.

“The Educare project has received widespread support throughout the Omaha community and, as our list of speakers shows, across the political spectrum. More than 100 private donors contributed to the capital campaign. Investing more resources – public and private – in early childhood makes a great deal of sense,” said Pedersen. “In the long run, it saves money and it saves human potential.”

Staffing and Programming

Each of the center’s 15 classrooms will be staffed with a BA-degreed early childhood teacher, an assistant teacher with an AA degree, and a paraprofessional. The center will operate with a staff-to-child ratio of 1-to-3 for infants and toddlers and 1-to-6 for pre-school aged children.

Beyond programming for children, Educare reaches out to parents, especially new mothers, teens and those receiving public assistance. The center will employ six family support specialists to help strengthen the parent-child relationship, to aid the transition from welfare to work and to assist in overcoming threats to health and safety outside the center.

According to Christina Avant, whose 4-year-old son has been enrolled in Educare since last October, “I am truly grateful for Educare. The teachers have taught my son so much. Now, he recognizes his numbers and colors and his drawing has really improved. Every day, he’s excited about going to school."

See more photos from the ribbon cutting ceremony