Moody Early Childhood Center Information

Thirty people arrived at the Moody Early Childhood Center, 1110 21st St., last week, to begin training and set up for a new program, in partnership with the Galveston Independent School District, that aims to provide early education to children between the ages of 6 weeks and 3 years old. The center is in the same building as the Coastal Village Middle School, but because of state regulations for buildings that serve younger students, the center officials had to plan a number of renovations to the building before the program could move in, said Erica Adams, the executive director of the Galveston Sustainable Communities Alliance and a member of the center's board of directors. "We've added a brand-new sprinkler system to the entire building, not just the portion that we'll be in this year," Adams said. "We're putting in a brand-new age and developmentally appropriate playground, and we gutted and redid the classrooms." The 100 spots at the center filled up quickly, Adams said. She took that as proof that Galveston needs the type of early education the center will provide. "There's been a very high demand," Adams said. "For our 2-year-old class alone, we have a waiting list of 45 parents. The other age groups aren't quite as high, but altogether I'd say we've got a waiting list of 80 parents still waiting to get a spot." Seventy percent of the children at the center are eligible for free and reduced lunch. The school provides subsidies for low-income families to help them attend the program. In 2012, the Galveston Sustainable Communities Alliance released a study claiming that the city needed hundreds more classroom spaces for young children to properly provide high-quality education. Only 12 percent of low income families in Galveston had their infants or toddlers enrolled in a high quality early childhood education program, the study said. The center hired Karin Miller as school leader. Miller is former assistant superintendent at the Cleveland Independent School District and the Texas City Independent School District. Miller said the school intends to work closely with parents to further the school's mission. "At Moody Early Childhood Center, parents will be active in their child's education so that they can reinforce at home what children are learning at school," Miller said. "We'll also advocate for parents if they need help accessing social services, school district and community resources." The Moody Early Childhood Center opens Monday, Aug. 22.