What is Oklahoma City Educare?
Oklahoma City Educare opened its doors in July 2009, to serve 200 disadvantaged children, ages birth to five years old, with year-round early childhood education programs. Educare Centers, throughout the nation, help young children grow up safe, healthy and eager to learn, providing the highest quality outcome-based learning environments for families and their children who are at-risk for school failure.
Oklahoma City Educare was created through a partnership among Inasmuch Foundation, Sunbeam Family Services, Inc., Community Action Agency of Oklahoma and Canadian Counties, Oklahoma City Public Schools and the United Way of Central Oklahoma. Through this partnership, and generous contributions from the community, construction began for the site of Oklahoma City’s first Educare.
Located at 500 SE Grand Boulevard, Oklahoma City Educare reflects what young children need to grow up healthy: safe, roomy, sunny, cheerful and predictable spaces for learning, exploring, and playing. Oklahoma City Educare is located adjacent to the new Cesar Chavez Elementary School, which will serve as the partner school to many of the children at Oklahoma City Educare as they enter kindergarten.
Sunbeam Family Services is the managing partner of Oklahoma City Educare and works in partnership with Oklahoma City Community Action Head Start, Oklahoma City Public Schools Pre-K, Sunbeam Family Services Early Head Start, and United Way to provide responsive care-giving and high-quality education that is designed to deliver positive outcomes for children and their families.
Oklahoma City Educare is committed to providing the most comprehensive mental health services to infants, young children and families. Components of Oklahoma City Educare’s mental health services include traditional Play Therapy; Diagnostic Nursery (a thorough assessment conducted in partnership with the Oklahoma University Health Science Center); Parent-Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT); Infant Massage; Parent Education and Support; and extensive training and education for staff, teachers, interns from local universities, and community members. This comprehensive mental health model serves as best practice and is cutting edge in the growing national focus on the critical importance of brain development, the impact of trauma and the significance of nurturing, consistent, stable relationships related to healthy social emotional development in infants and young children. This mental health component is something unique to Oklahoma City Educare.
Oklahoma City Educare follows the Educare model and strives to provide three adults in each of the sixteen classrooms. Small class sizes and high staff to child ratios are maintained in order to provide high quality, individualized care to the children. In addition, every attempt is made to have at least one of the three adults in the classroom is bilingual, in order to better meet the communication needs of Spanish-speaking children and their families.
As the first early childhood center recognized as an Oklahoma A+ School, Oklahoma City Educare adheres to a set of commitments that include dedicated art areas in the classrooms and on the playground, experiential learning and enriched assessment, nurturing creativity in every learner. Through the specialized training provided by A+ Schools, teachers learn to effectively integrate the arts into everyday curriculum and family home environments.
Oklahoma City Educare is a candidate to become the first LEED-certified Educare Center in the Network, with highly energy-efficient features. The building reflects the needs of the community and incorporates features of the Oklahoma landscape. Providing education on wise use of our natural resources is a primary focus of the program.
At Oklahoma City Educare, children will develop the cognitive and social emotional skills that are critical to success in school and in life, breaking the cycle of poverty for their future.
What is offered at Oklahoma City Educare?