At play in the halls of SUNY: Union parents take comfort in campus child care centers

When you’re in one of the SUNY child care centers, you are reminded of how important the smell of crayons are and how smart a daytime nap seems. You might hear a bright-faced girl tell you about the pet shark in her backyard or see a toddler reach eagerly for a bubble that, for a moment, is her whole world.

The state of New York has 17 independent, not-for-profit child care centers at SUNY colleges. Here’s a peek at some of them:

At SUNY Stony Brook, a brand new, yellow child care center brightens the campus. UUPer Lucille Oddo, executive director, said the building is designed like eight separate condominiums under one roof so “it has the concept of a house.” Couches, rugs and artwork warm the inside. A covered back porch leads to the outside.

An assistive play technology area features a lending library of toys for children with special needs designed by engineering department students working with local corporations.

“The demand on campus has been great for expanded child care,” Oddo said. The new center opens its doors to 160 children, provides after-school and summer care, and has extended hours for Stony Brook HSC faculty and staff. It is accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood.

The center offers a sliding fee to parents based on income (some other centers are discontinuing this policy) and is funded by SUNY Stony Brook, grants, the State Employees Federated Appeal and a major fund-raising event, Oddo said.

Like each of the centers in this article, Stony Brook has an open-door policy so faculty and staff can drop by any time. And grandparents.

Susan Scheckel, an associate professor of English, brings her toddler Elizabeth to the center.

“People here care about the philosophy of child care development,” Scheckel, a UUP member, said. “There’s a constant infusion of creativity.” For a bonus: “I know that if anything’s wrong, I can be there in a minute.”

SUNY Cobleskill’s Campus Child Care Center is located in Frisbie Hall. Currently, 66 kids come to the door each day in their little sneakers and rubber boots. But this spring, groundbreaking will be held for a new center that will be home-away-from-home for 80 children.

Interim director Nancy Collins, a UUPer, said the new center’s outdoor play space will rely on natural resources, grasses, tunnels and rocks. It will be coordinated with the college’s plant science and agricultural departments.

“The play spaces will mimic our childhood of playing outdoors,” Collins said.

The center bolsters its regular staff with early childhood education students fulfilling their practicum.

“We’re very convenient for faculty and staff,” Collins said. “We have dads who come every day for lunch, and moms who come to nurse their children.”

The SUNY Plattsburgh Day Care Center is nationally accredited and “fully enrolled” at 65 students from 6 weeks to 5 years old, said Sally Girard, director.

The Sibley Hall center, which has a waiting list, enables faculty and staff to “go to work and be productive employees,” Girard said. “They know their children are being cared for by professionals.”

Teachers at the center also make home visits for each child before they start at the center. “We see ourselves as guides. So much happens with children in their early years,” Girard said.

U-Kids at SUNY Albany is licensed for 57 children; 49 are currently enrolled. Along with the regular day care, U-Kids offers a summer camp program for K-8 students that’s big on field trips.

Their child care program is approved by the State Education Department and integrated with special needs children, said Debra Merchant, executive director of Campus Children’s Center, which runs U-Kids.

“On-site makes a big difference,” Merchant said. “It allows parents to parent while working and going to school.”

Being located on a campus has benefits for the kids: They get to go to the duck pond, visit the SUNY Albany fountain, play basketball in the big gym, see construction vehicles at work and make their own CD at SUNY Tunes. The rest of the time, they are being guided in simple, fun activities that key into their senses. They smell and touch spices. They shell peanuts and make peanut butter.

And they tell their stories.

— Liza Frenette