EHE News
The Columbus Foundation Supports Young Children and Family Well-Being in the Weinland Park Neighborhood
Columbus Foundation representatives visited the center in March to view classrooms from the observation gallery. They are (L-R) President and CEO Douglas Kridler, Governing Committee Vice Chair Tanny Crane, Chairman of the Governing Committee David Meuse, and Vice President for Community Research and Grants Management Lisa Schweitzer Courtice.
The Columbus Foundation gift to the Schoenbaum Family Center at Weinland Park is made possible by the following funds at the foundation:
- Jacob Hare Charity Trust
- Alfred L. Willson Charitable Fund
- Edna K. Jacobs Fund
- A. Irene Emswiler Fund
- Chester C. and Rose L. Shinbach Fund
- Adelaide C. Craig Fund
- Joe and Mary Hoffer Fund
- Robert B. Hurst Fund
Where's the finest seat in the house if you want to watch teachers modeling best practices in early childhood education and care? The answer is at The Columbus Foundation Observation Gallery, newly named at the Schoenbaum Family Center at Weinland Park.
The center features a network of overhead balconies, named by a bricks-and-mortar gift of $330,000 from The Columbus Foundation, that permits students, researchers, and visitors to observe activities in the center's seven early childhood classrooms. Headsets at the observation stations allow viewers to hear children and teachers without disrupting the classrooms.
A unique architectural feature, the observation gallery sets the Schoenbaum Center apart from other early childhood centers worldwide. Rarely are such centers designed to offer unobtrusive observation of more than one or two classrooms.
"We salute The Columbus Foundation for supporting the observation gallery, which makes the study of events in the classrooms possible for the many," says Interim Dean Sandra Stroot. "Research at the center will inform our work in the Columbus community, and will contribute to the national and international knowledge base regarding children's social, emotional, and cognitive development. The observation gallery is essential to reaching that goal."
Dr. Lisa Schweitzer Courtice, vice president of Community Research and Grants Management at The Columbus Foundation, explained the Foundation's interest in improving lives in the Weinland Park neighborhood. "The Columbus Foundation's grant to the Schoenbaum Center is a powerful investment," she said. "Our contribution supports this state-of-the-art early childhood program as well as the economic revitalization of the Weinland Park neighborhood. We look forward to an ongoing partnership with the center and the many efforts to strengthen and improve this important Columbus community."
The new gift from The Columbus Foundation adds to its prior gift for parent training workshops that were started this year. Families may attend if their children are enrolled at the Schoenbaum Family Center or if they live in the Weinland Park neighborhood.
During the dedication of the Schoenbaum Family Center at Weinland Park, the view from The Columbus Foundation Observation Gallery into a classroom looked like this.
Family Connections, a four-part workshop, has been presented twice during the 2007-08 school year and will be presented a third time this spring. During these evenings with the center's early childhood professionals, parents ask questions and discuss the potential for their children's growth and development.
William O'Bannon, whose daughter Sarah attends the early childhood program at the Schoenbaum Family Center, took part in the Family Connections workshop. A painter by profession, he expresses appreciation for the center's support.
What Parents Say about the Family Connections Workshops
"Made me a more confident parent"
"The best part was that parents were able to share their own experiences with other parents."
"I learned how to control my anger with dealing with my child."
Each of the workshop's four parts focuses on an aspect of parents' vital roles in their children's healthy development:
- Session 1: Child Development Overview -- When adults have appropriate expectations, children experience happy, successful development and learning.
- Session 2: The Importance of Relationships -- High-quality relationships support children's brain development, social and emotional development, and later school success.
- Session 3: Guidance and Discipline -- Challenging situations can be turned into learning situations by helping children become problem solvers.
- Session 4: Joys and Challenges of Parenting -- Parents have many roles, including being their child's first teacher, their safety net, their nurturer and protector, and their hero!
The A. Sophie Rogers Laboratory for Child and Family Studies at the Schoenbaum Family Center, a project of the College of Education and Human Ecology, enrolls approximately 88 children through Ohio State, the Child Development Council Head Start, and Columbus City Schools. Families are also offered services at the center that support their holistic well-being. The center and the laboratory serve many audiences, including the community, children and their families, faculty researchers, and students. For example, more than 600 students enrolled in the college's Early Childhood Development and Education program use the gallery to conduct required observations of the classrooms.
xhtml | css | 508 © 2008 The Ohio State University - College of Education and Human Ecology. All Rights Reserved.
If you have trouble accessing this page and need to request an alternate format, contact the webmaster.