Singing and Digging Children Help Los Angeles City College Celebrate Ground Breaking for New Child Development Center

New $13 million Center will provide modern amenities and additional space for preschool children and student-teacher classrooms

May 22, 2007 (LOS ANGELES)   Celebrating a project 33 years in the making, community members, students, parents, faculty, staff, and dozens of children joined together at Los Angeles City College (LACC) on Thursday, May 17 to mark the beginning of construction on a new $13 million Child Development Center. 

The new Center will integrate the preschool and higher education classroom, with children of student-parents housed on the first floor, and students studying child development on the second level.  The funds are being provided by Proposition A/AA bond construction funds, approved by voters in 2001 and 2003.

Before the groundbreaking ceremonies, children serenaded the audience with renditions of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in English, Spanish and Armenian, reflecting the diversity of the student population at the college.  LACCD Trustees Georgia L. Mercer and Nancy Pearlman then joined LACC President Steve Maradian and others in a ceremony that celebrated both the history of the Child Development Center and its future as a modern instructional facility at the urban college campus that lies between Hollywood and Downtown. 

"City College’s Child Development Center is another example of the positive impact that Proposition A/AA is having on our community colleges and the communities they serve," said Trustee Mercer.  "We know this Center provides improved access to education for many individuals and families, so today's celebration marks an important investment in this community."

The new 26,000 sq. ft.-Center will serve 30 percent more student-parents at the college in providing child care support, and help to prepare the more than 1,000 students enrolled in the college's Child Development Studies program each year.  Currently, elementary school-aged children share classroom space with the preschoolers; the new Center will provide a separate space specifically for the elementary school children with age-appropriate materials, etc.  Additional classroom space will also allow the Center to expand its preschool capacity from 66 to 90 children.  Completion on the structure is scheduled for the second half of 2008.

The Child Development Center at Los Angeles City College first opened in 1974, housed in bungalows at the corner of Melrose Avenue and Berendo Street.  The Center has served as a vital resource for many student-parents over the years, providing support services that have helped them reach their educational goals.

"Without the Child Development Center here, I would not be able to go to school at City College,” said student Chauncey Mahan during the ceremony, accompanied by his five-year-old son, Ocee.  “This Center is contributing to the development of my son, and it's a place where parents can leave their children, knowing they are safe and being guided by good teachers."

Los Angeles City College is undergoing a transformative face-lift that is being funded by voter-approved Propositions A/AA.  LACC became City College in 1929 after serving as the original campus for UCLA.  Current construction projects on campus includes a new $17 million, 64,000 sq. ft Library Resource Center, and $52.2 million parking structure with a rooftop Athletic Field and Maintenance facility.

"The many construction projects underway, including the new Child Development Center, are leading Los Angeles City College to be a campus that reflects the 21st century, ensuring that we have some of the best, cutting-edge educational facilities in Los Angeles," President Maradian said at the celebration.

The Los Angeles Community College District is the largest community college district in the country, educating more than 188,000 students at its nine colleges each year.  The LACCD is currently undertaking the largest public sector sustainable building effort in the United States as part of its $2.2 billion construction and renovation program, funded by the Proposition A/AA Bond Program.  For more information, visit www.LACCDBuildsGreen.org.

ABOVE: VIPs turned dirt in celebration at the site of the future Child Development Center at
Los Angeles City College on May 17. From left to right: Preschoolers from the Child Development Center;
Dr. Steve Maradian, president of L.A. City College; LACCD Board President Georgia L. Mercer; and LACCD Trustee Nancy Pearlman.


# # #