Where: Beside the Activity Center on LBCC campus
Who is it for: Children who are 2.5 - 5 years old (need not be potty trained)
Hours: 7:15 AM to 5:15 PM -- Monday - Friday (unless LBCC is closed)
Kindergarten follows GAPS schedule
Cost: $400/term for kindergarten; $500/term for pre-school
(ask about grants/financial aid)
Contact: Family Connections
Phone: 541-917-4899
Email: connect@linnbenton.edu
New and returning LBCC students -- who are also parents -- are excited that the Periwinkle Child Development Center co-op model is an available, more affordable option this term.
Funding child care for LBCC students was a high priority at the LBCC president's budget retreat, and it was identified as one way to help parents come to school.
According to Periwinkle coordinator, Susan Knapp, there were grants and additional funds available to parents during the years the co-op was unavailable; however, "The cost was prohibitive for those who were not eligible.”
"The fees were $400/$500 per month,” said Knapp.
Knapp also stated that the PCDC primarily met the needs of working parents in those years. By returning to a parent co-op, which includes a mandatory three-credit class with a lab, more parents are able to afford child care and kindergarten for their children.
The parent obligation is three hours per week in the classroom plus a co-op job, which is a task that aids the center and eliminates the need to hire others to sanitize toys, prepare snacks and assist children.
The lab fee covers the cost of kindergarten for $400 or pre-school for $500 per term. Pell grant-eligible parents can also qualify for an additional grant that will cover all but $100 of the lab fee – which equals $10 a week.
Rochelle Garrette and Marty Johnston are two parents who say they appreciate this savings in hard times.
“My family saves around $3500 per year,” Johnston said.
Like other parents, however, Johnston and Garrette say they enjoy other benefits they receive from participating in the co-op program.
"At PCDC you are with your peers; you share common goals," said Johnston.
Parents develop bonds with the center and learn from each other in peer-to-peer and peer-staff relationships. PCDC provides them a haven, a safe place to learn parenting skills, observe normal child-development processes and meet parents in similar situations.
"With the co-op program at PCDC, our kids get the best care and education we can give them while we are getting ours,” Garrette said.
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