Thursday, February 20, 1992
Babysitting blues:
For many, campus child care remains
by Vicky Snyder
The Collegian
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JLF ccky rushes in and quietly
tries to unzip her coat and find a
seat in the packed Psych 201
class. She glances at the clock on
the wall; it's 9:35. Instead ol
taking notes, she finds herself
jotting down a new day care
schedule. "Pick Kirsten up at
11:00. Take her to the sitter. Ask
Dad if he can watch Carly next
week."
Students start to shuffle their
books, signaling the end of class.
She stares at the near-blank piece
of paper in front of her. A knot
begins to form in the pit of her
stomach as she explains to the
professor why she was late and
why she may cpntinue to be late.
Becky is just one of the many
Behrend students and faculty who,
in order to concentrate on
academics, must delicately juggle
an ever-changing day care
arrangement.
The task begins at the start of
each semester with the search for
a quality sitter who is willing to
deal with the erratic schedule of a
college student on a budget.
Unfortunately, there is not
always ah end to thisquest.
If Becky had chosen to pursue
her education at Mercyhurst,
Edinboro University or the Villa
Maria campus of Gannon
University, she would have
another option: an on-site
campus day care program.
Mercyhurst has had an on
campus day care center for ten
years. The Maura Smith Child
Learning Center is a new
building designed specifically for
housing children.
Students, faculty, staff, and
the community are welcome to
use the facility. A flat rate of $BO
a week is charged to parents of
children who attend the Learning
Center. The cost of the Center is
about one-tenth of what Behrend
spent on the three new residence
halls and stair tower last year,
according to figures released in
September of 1991 by the
Department of Development and
University Relations.
Two years ago, Edinboro
University's campus day care
center fell under university
control. Housed with the Miller
School Laboratory, it handles
fifty-eight children of students.
The center is open from 7:15
until 5:15 daily and charges
various rates according to the age
of the child and the schedule of
the student.
Julia George, director of day
care at Villa Maria of Gannon
University, believes on-site day
EARLY YEARS LEARNING CENTER
4403 Iroquois Avenue
Erie, PA 16511
Director. Constance Skarlinski
Phone: 898-4689
Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"Honey, I brought the kids": Without adequate day care facilities, some
student/parents, facing haphazard schedules and tight budgets, are left
with few options.
care programs are an asset to
universities.
"If the program is beneficial
to the students; if it meets their
needs, enrollment could increase,"
she explained.
Villa's thirteen-year-old day
care program is open to regular
staff and students who pay
according to the age of the child
and the amount of time the child
The construction costs of Mercyhurst's day care center were
about one-tenth of what Behrend spent on the three new
residence halls and stair tower last year.
spends in the center. The program
is affiliated with the School of
Education.
At Penn State, a university
wide survey of the day care needs
of students, faculty and staff was
conducted in 1989. Behrend came
in third in the need for chiid care
services, outranked only by
University Park and the
Harrisburg campus. However,
both of these campuses now have
on site child care facilities,
making Behrend number one in
need.
"The need is now recognized
throughout the university," said
Chris Reber, dean of Student
Services.
A child care task force was set
up at Behrend in 1989.
Composed of students, faculty
and staff members, the task force
MERCYHURST CHILD CARE CENTER
501 East 38th Street
Erie, PA 16546
Direction Mary Pros
Phone: 825-0406
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
F eatures
conducted a study of the child care
centers throughout the
community in an attempt to find
a way for Behrend to connect
with an existing center. Due to
the high demand for child care
throughout the city, this effort
failed.
The next step in the search for
a solution was to look for a
private company who would
build and operate a center on
campus. According to Reber,
this was a nationwide search.
"We worked on a request for
proposal which we ultimately
sent to the nation's fifty largest
child care providers." There were
no takers.
The current effort has
administrators looking for a
building in the Behrend area
which could house approximately
100 children; 25 infants, 15
toddlers and 60 preschoolers.
Reber noted that if the
College finds a facility, the
University will have complete
control over it. Staff would be
hired by the college, he added,
which should ensure that quality
individuals would be taking care
of the children while hopefully
reducing the unusually high
turnover rates associated with the
child care profession.
"We’re proposing that it offer
both full-time care and part-time
care, or what we call flexible
part-time care," Reber said.
Students would schedule their
classes for the semester while at
the same time scheduling their
child's care at the center. "What
we don't want to have is
unannounced drop ins," he added.
If this hypothetical facility is
found, the next concern would be
funding. Behrend has requested
start-up funds from the
University in hopes that the
center's fees will pay back the
loan and allow it to be self
supporting within two years.
The average fees charged to
students for full-time care would
be $BO per week for infants, $75
dollars per week for toddlers and
$7O per week for preschoolers.
Community residents would
be charged the most for use of the
center, with students paying the
lowest rates and faculty and staff
in between. If a student wanted
part-time care, the fees would be
pro-rated according to how many
hours the child spends at the
center. For a slightly higher rate,
HARBOR CARE
7895 Buffalo Road
Harborcreek, PA 16421
Director. Joan Graham
Phone: 899-0952
Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m,
Page 7
an issue
lunch and two snacks could be
provided.
"I think everything looks very
good," Reber explained.
"However, we are asking the
University to provide start-up
funds; that would be breaking
new ground. The University has
never before made this kind of
initial investment in child care.
"The reason that I am
concerned is that we are in a
difficult budget environment right
now." There is support from
some at University Park, he
added, but the bureaucracy is
moving slowly.
Those words were echoed by
State Senator Buzz Andrezeski of
the 49th district. Andrezeski does
support on-site day care centers,
but is concerned with the current
education budget crunch in
Harrisburg. The most current
legislation on the floor which
could benefit campus day care
programs is a proposed tax break
for parents who use child care
services.
Meanwhile, the hectic life for
student-parents at Behrend goes
on.
’7 have to get up, be out the
door by 8:00 a.m. and be at
school for a 9:00 a.m. class,"
said Becky Ohmer, a sixth
semester psychology major.
That might not be so bad, she
said, "If I didn't have to drive all
the way into town to the sitter's
house and back out to Behrend
everyday."
Ohmer has another child in
school, which makes her time
table even tougher. "I have
classes in the morning, work
study in the afternoon and then
the rush starts again when I have
to go back into town, pick up
Kirsten, and rush home to get
Carly off the school bus."
Jackie Steele is pregnant with
her third child. Although the
other two are teenagers, she feels
she may be in need of day care
soon.
"I think it would be an extra
bonus for students if they felt
comfortable and secure about the
facility," said the sixth semester
communication major. "Price
would definitely be a factor,
because if you're in college full
time, you're probably not
working."
All that these students can
hope for is that the University
keeps working on this problem.
The need is there, the will seems
to be there, and now the question
is, will the funding be there?
Nobody can predict the future,
but in this case a lot of students
want to picture a quality child
care system for their children and
for themselves.
YMCA - EASTSIDE
2101 Nagle Road
Erie, PA 16510
Director Jackie Horton
Phone: 899-9622
Hours: 6:30 _ a.m. to 6 p.m.