The newly renovated Lottie W. Early Childhood Center at Jackson State University reopened in May with a fresh outlook on educating young children.
Housed on the ground floor of the Joseph H. Jackson College of Education and Human Development, the center provides teacher education to JSU students and operates a year-round preschool for 3 and 4 year-olds. The center’s educational focus is early literacy. It is open to children of JSU faculty, staff and students, as well as the general community. Enrollment is currently open.
Director LaTasha Brown said the environment was specially structured to stimulate children’s interest in learning, expose them to new concepts in an exciting and engaging manner and to give children the opportunity to rehearse and practice what they already know. This helps them to develop as competent and confident learners.
The Center defines and aligns its quality standards with the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales (ERS). That means the center offers age-appropriate materials that challenge students socially and academically. For example, teachers act as facilitators rather than commanders of a “controlled” learning environment.
Team teachers and twin sisters, Azelda and Amelda Ellis, say learning takes place when children are engaged in active play that sparks their interest and propels them to think critically. Students are given opportunities to learn by exploring. Each day, children choose from a variety of learning activities designed by the teachers to meet their growing and developmental needs. The children use their physical, cognitive, social and emotional attributes to draw conclusions about what they are learning and how to best apply their newly found knowledge to other learning situations within the classroom.
Dr. Yazho Zhang, a chemistry technician at JSU, enrolled his daughter in May. Zhang believes his daughter has progressed as an English-language learner. He said prior to her attending the center, “she did not know how to interact with others socially.”
Rashandra Booker, whose daughter has been with the center since its reopening, said she noticed her daughter develop several new skills within her first month of re-enrollment.
“She knows how to identify numbers and the alphabet,” Booker said. “She can also place the correct sounds to the alphabet. That’s what I am most proud of.”
Under ERS, the center has three primary focuses: protection of children’s health and safety, building positive relationships and providing opportunities for stimulation and experiential learning.
For elementary & early childhood education majors, the center has a student resource center for them to conduct observations directly related to their coursework. Named after noted educator and former JSU faculty member Dr. Lottie W. Thornton, the center offers diversified laboratory experiences for undergraduate students in cognitive, psychomotor and the social development of young children. It facilitates the curriculum and research efforts of students in the JSU College of Education and Human Development.
Monthly tuition for the center is $375. For parents unable to afford childcare, the center accepts childcare certificates administered through Mississippi Department of Health and Human Services’ Childcare Payment Program.
The Lottie W. Thornton Early Childhood Center is licensed by the Mississippi Department of Health and Human Services and operates under the auspice of the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education within the JSU College of Education and Human Development.
The Lottie W. Thornton Early Childhood Center is open Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information or to request an application, call 601-979-2396 or email latasha.l.brown@jsums.edu.