Cole-Harrington Children's Center
History
The
Cole-Harrington Children’s Center was established as an educational childcare
center for toddlers and preschool children in 1978. Since that time, five
separate program components were developed in response to community
needs. In 1986, a School-Age
Enrichment Program for children aged four and a half to ten years was
developed in partnership with the Canton school system. In 1987, the
Children’s Place was established to provide a therapeutic preschool program
for children with specific social, emotional and behavioral needs. In 1988, the
Family Child Care System, a
community-based family childcare program providing services to children aged
three months to six years from low-income families and victims of abuse and
neglect, was awarded by the Department of Social Services (DSS). In 1996 the program was awarded a
contract by DSS to provide support and family childcare services for teen
parents and their children. Children of teen parents now have the option of
attending one of our center-based programs as well. In 2001, the Infant/Toddler Enrichment
Program was established to provide a center based educational childcare
program to children aged 3 months to 2.9 years. The Cole Harrington Children’s
Center is located in CCanton, but serves families and children from
surrounding towns and communities
Program Description
Cole-Harrington provides early childhood education programs to approximately five hundred children each week. The Office for Child Care Services (OCCS) provides funding for eighty-two of these children who have been victims of child abuse and/or neglect and consequently receive child care as part of DSS Family Preservation services. OCCS also provides funding for an additional one hundred children from working families with limited incomes. Cole-Harrington Children’s Center, as part of its commitment to families and children from all economic backgrounds, contracts with local Voucher Management Agencies to provide subsidized care for approximately thirty-five families who are involved in the Department of Public Welfare Mass Jobs program and four families participating in Department of Education funded Community Partnership programs.
Program Components
Cole-Harrington
Children’s Center’s six programs consist of four center-based programs, a
family childcare system and a support and education program for teen parents.
The four center-based programs provide educational programs following the
educational philosophy developed by the Brookline Early Education Project
(BEEP). The BEEP model integrates contemporary principles and practices of
early childhood education featuring the High Scope cognitively oriented
curriculum. The curriculum includes three major components: a planned learning
environment, a consistent and predictable daily routine, and specific teacher
child interactions. Each program is committed to the concept of inclusive
education for all children.
Staff
Program staff consists primarily of bachelor and master level degreed early childhood educators and special educators with various years of experience. Three clinical social workers support staff efforts to meet the needs of DSS involved funded children and their families and our teen parents. Cole-Harrington has consistently employed teachers with demonstrated abilities to nurture and educate young children as well as support parents in their role as primary caretakers. A number of paraprofessionals from local communities are also employed at Cole Harrington to support the efforts of staff to meet both the educational and care taking needs of the children. Our family childcare providers reflect the various ethnic, cultural and economic backgrounds served by our programs. The providers’ dedication to providing quality home-based childcare supports Cole-Harrington’s vision for families and children. The program utilizes the services of a consulting child psychologist and pediatrician to support staff’s work with children with medical and mental health issues.
Cost
There is a tuition rate for private students and a subsidized rate for OCCS, DTA and Community Partnership Families clients with limited incomes. There is no tuition rate for children enrolled in DSS Family Preservation slots.