Midland College will soon launch a new Pre-K Academy and Center for Teaching Excellence. The center’s grand opening is scheduled to take place on Sept. 12 at 6:00p.m.
“The Pre-K Academy serves children who are state Pre-K AND Child Care Services (CCS) eligible as well as tuition paying families,” the program’s original site states. “All seats will be filled by lottery.“
This year, the full-day Pre-K program will have the capacity to care for 296 3-4 year-old students on or before September 1st of the current year.
Scharbauer Foundation and the Permian Strategic Partnership has allocated $10 million, while the Abell-Hanger Foundation, Henry Foundation, Midland College Foundation, Inc., The Beal Foundation and Warren Charitable Foundation supported the project through gifts of $1 million or more each. An additional $30-plus million building were donated by other private foundations, individuals, families and businesses in the community.
“This project is another great example of a public/private collaboration focused on addressing a community need,” Grant Billingsley, president and CEO of Scharbauer Foundation, stated in the press release. “Scharbauer Foundation is proud to work with Midland College and our generous philanthropic partners to help students and families succeed.”
“We consider it a privilege to partner with other Permian Basin organizations to help find a solution to the shortage of high-quality early childhood education and the shortage of teachers,” Midland College President Damon Kennedy said.
The launch comes four years after Midland College initiated its partnership with Midland ISD to start the Midland College pre-K in-district charter school with 68 students.
"The Midland College Pre-K Academy partnership between Midland College and Midland ISD allows us to merge our resources and build upon a pillar of our strategic plan to enhance the student experience by creating a unique learning environment that will set a new standard for early education in our region,” Stephanie Howard, MISD superintendent, said in the press release. “We are excited for the academy to be able to offer five 3-year-old classes this year for a total of 85 seats and five 4-year-old classes for a total of 100 seats. This increase of 51 and 66 seats respectively from last year will allow us to serve even more of Midland's youngest learners. Currently, we are only able to serve 5% of eligible 3-year-old students in Midland, and we look forward to the future when even more seats are made available."
Spanning 60,000-square-foot, the new two-story teaching center is located across from the Chapparal Center, an MRT report states.
The first floor will house the academy’s classrooms and cafeteria, among other areas. On the second floors, visitors can find officesbelonging to the College’s Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Early Childhood Education and Associate of Arts in Teaching programs.
The program assures that students who complete the baccalaureate-level program in Early Childhood Education and receive the Texas Teacher Certification EC-3 will play a crucial role in Midland’s local teaching field.
“This initiative creates a model for combined teacher preparation and early childhood education, two areas of great need in our region and priorities for the PSP,” Tracee Bentley, president and CEO of Permian Strategic Partnership, said. “This is a first of its kind program at a community college, and we have the opportunity to set the standard for others in our region and beyond. The Permian Strategic Partnership is honored to partner with Midland College and all the funding partners who have helped to make this vision a reality.”