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St. James Early Childhood Center is an extension of St. James Lutheran Church and School Ministries. Our non-profit center is governed by the School Board, and Early Childhood Committee at St. James. Our Early Childhood program is accredited in association with St. James Lutheran School and Preschool. In 1994 our school system was awarded National Lutheran School Accreditation for its excellence in education and organization. Our childcare center is operating under that same philosophy and accreditation criteria.
Our Early Childhood Center was established to provide a Christian environment to our young children and assist our families in providing quality care in an educational setting. The mission statement of St. James Early Childhood Center is the same as the church and the school. Our mission is to share the love of Jesus with our families, our community and our world.
Our Preschool program was established in 1980 and began at St. James School as a three and four-year old program. Our program quickly grew as the demand for early childhood education grew.
In 1995 we began exploring the need for Christian Child Care. After surveying our congregation we established that there was indeed a need for this ministry. The program began very small providing care for three-year-olds up to age twelve in the basement of St. James Lutheran church. It soon became apparent that the need for quality Christian care for children ages six weeks through age twelve was a need in our community as well.
In March 2001 the Methodist Church congregation, located at 244 South Main Street, put their building up for sale. St. James purchased and renovated the building and found it to be perfect! It provided room for us to expand while still remain close in proximity to St. James, and providing the Christian atmosphere we were looking for. August of that year we moved into our newly renovated building which now allowed us to serve many more families and employ a staff of twenty five.
Our program offers opportunities for socializing with other children in a Christian, developmentally appropriate setting. We provide learning experiences and activities that help each child attain a healthy self concept. We also provide each child with a setting and program which encourages growth in the intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual areas.
In August of 2008 our preschool program moved back to St. James School, because of a need to once again expand. This move has not only made room for a one year old classroom, but also allowed us to expand our preschool program. We now have three spacious classrooms. A Three-year-old classroom with a Monday, Wednesday and Friday a.m. class, and a Tuesday and Thursday a.m. class which runs from 8:30-11:00. We also offer a four-year-old Monday through Friday class that runs from 8:30-11:00 and a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday class for four-year-olds that runs from 12:30-3:00. In addition, have a room that is used for music, devotions, and large motor activities. Our once long waiting list for the Infant and toddler rooms is much smaller now making it much easier for us to help more families.
This ministry has been a blessing to not only our congregation, but to others in our community. We are reaching out into our community and serving families, planting the seeds of faith in our future generations. We are not only caring for the children’s daily needs, but equipping them for their future.
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