Those of you who are parents know that not only is it difficult to attend school as a parent, but it is also difficult to find affordable, proper daycare. Not everyone has a family member or friend that can take care of their children while they’re at school. Fortunately, SUNY Old Westbury offers daycare services for its students.
The Brookville Center for Children’s Services is easy to find. It’s located in the Campus Center next to the Recital Hall. When walking through the double doors that lead to the Brookville Center for Children’s Services, I was welcomed with a colorful mural of a jungle with animals. As a parent, I can tell you this would have eased a little anxiety I might have had. When you bring your children, the mural might also ease some of their anxieties. Walking up to the door you have to ring a bell to be buzzed in. The staff greeted me very warmly and was very pleasant.
The daycare program started in July 2003. The Center is open Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Daycare is also available for summer and winter sessions, depending on availability; but they are very flexible and will work with you.
When meeting with the Program Supervisor Sherry Graber, I asked if the daycare at Old Westbury was affordable she said: “It depends on how many hours the students use. For infants it is $6.12 an hour. For toddlers and preschoolers it is $4.08 an hour. Monthly semester rates are broken down into four payments. We have flexible scheduling and flexible pricing plans. SUNY block grants are available based on income eligibility that would help defer costs.”
The children range from six weeks to five years old. There are six classrooms: one infant, one toddler, and four preschool.
They have unique preschool teachers. They are all certified with their Masters degree because the classrooms are integrated with special needs students. The Center offers OT, PT, Speech, as part of the special needs program. The infant and toddler teachers hold their CDA (Child Development Associate). They also have all the necessary training and are CPR certified.
When given a tour of the Center, I found it very colorful and welcoming. Paintings the kids made are hung all over the hallways. They have an outdoor playground and indoor play area that has a big rainbow caterpillar for the children to crawl through. They try to take the kids out as much as possible to the playground and to color the sidewalks with chalk for outside leisurely activities. They take the infants for walks outside, and inside in red and blue four passenger strollers, called “bye bye buggies.”
They are active in getting the daycare name out there by giving out flyers, putting posters up in the Academic Village, and even having a table at this past Open House. When speaking with Sherry Graber, she also said this, “The child care advisory board has parents and some professors that keep the center going. Keeping the college students in school is very important.”