The formula seems so simple.
Take the poorest children-the ones with the fewest options-and hand them the only ticket out: A good education.
But it rarely works that way. The worst schools are almost always where the need is the greatest-where unemployment, urban decay and single parenthood make even modest dreams a long shot.
But the Community Mennonite Early Learning Center that opened last month in Markham has rewritten the rules.
The $1.8 million building is where 175 children spend their days while their parents work or attend school. That the facility provides child care isn’t what makes this every parent’s fantasy. The center also has a nurturing staff, airy, cheerful surroundings and state-of-the-art equipment.
Indeed, the most affluent grandparent could not provide more exquisite toys, better computers and sturdier furniture than those at the center, which stands in one of the poorest suburbs in the area.
According to a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the project is the only one of its kind in the nation where the state has partnered with a private not-for-profit entity and used tax-exempt bonds to finance the construction of the facility.
“What a fine institution of learning this is,” said one mother, running her hand over the columns, as if architecture alone could confer Ivy League status. But columns are no small thing in a community of boarded-up windows and weed-choked yards.
Neither is a center, which has programs for children, ages 6 weeks through 6 years, five days a week, 12 hours a day. In some classes, the student/teacher ratio is as low as 3-1, perfect for learning, playing and cuddling.
“If this weren’t here, I’d be really messed up,” said Lynnette Gray, who has two pre-schoolers at the center. Gray said a lack of stable day care caused her to be terminated from her last job; she had patched together arrangements with relatives who sometimes forgot to tell her when they had made other plans.
“But you can really count on these people,” said Gray, who is studying to be a cosmetologist. “If they weren’t here, I’d be at home. And my kids just love it . . . they don’t want to leave. Sometimes, they want to call the teachers at home, just to talk.”
The Early Learning Center is one of seven slated for low-income areas in Illinois. Two others-in East St. Louis and Rockford-have already opened, while two Chicago sites-at 722 N. Monticello Ave. and 4701 N. Winthrop Ave.-will be completed next month. Also on the drawing board are centers in central Illinois’ Decatur and at 1701 W. Superior St., scheduled to open at the end of the year.
All this activity has been spurred by the private, nonprofit Illinois Facilities Fund (IFF), a Chicago-based developer that makes loans to Illinois human services agencies that rely on government contracts and are unable to obtain other financing. In an arrangement between the IFF and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, DCFS will repay the debt on behalf of the Community Mennonite Early Learning Center, which will own the building when repayment is complete in 10 years.
“Our mission is to work in neighborhoods where no one else will work,” said Trinita Logue, president of IFF.
The Markham/Harvey area-in the bottom 20 percent in household income in the Chicago area-certainly qualifies. With high rates of teen pregnancy, infant mortality, substance abuse and school dropouts, the area has an acute need for a safe place where local parents could leave their children.
The center, which moved from other quarters, was actually started 30 years ago by a pastor who visited a neighbor only to find a 4-year-old home alone, caring for an even younger sibling. Today, despite the name, it has no formal affiliation with the Mennonite Church.
Parents pay anywhere from 25 cents to $56 per week, depending on their income and the number of dependents.
“The Mennonite Center is exactly what we set out to do,” Logue said. “We love it and we’re very proud of it.”
So is everyone associated with it. The new 17,500-square-foot building has meant that twice as many children can be served as in their old building. And Director Jeanette Kreider said she has seen how a mother holds her chin a little higher and how kids stand a little taller when they walk through the door.
The building, designed by Boyer/Hoppe & Associates of Chicago, reflects the close working relationship between the architects and the agency. There’s plenty of storage space for teachers and the expansive windows are at a child’s height.
“The early childhood years are so important,” said Kreider. “It shapes the kind of person you can become. We can put the money into them now, or we can do it later . . . in prisons and welfare.”
Kreider and assistant director Jackie Smizer-with 29 years of experience at Mennonite between them-know that it isn’t just the kids they look after, but the parents as well. The average mother is just 20 years old, and 70 percent are raising the children by themselves.
“We are in a unique position to help because we see the parents twice a day, when they drop off their kids and when they pick them up,” Smizer said. “We can ask them about how school is going, about their grades. You can just feel the need for love . . . and we have it to give.”
But there is still so much to do, so many little lives to point in the right direction. The waiting list is 300 names long, and every day, calls come in from area high schools from guidance counselors pleading with the center to make room for one more, so the young mothers can get on with their education.
And now, calls are coming from junior high schools, too.
“These young mothers are so lonely, but they’re trying to do the right thing,” Kreider said. “Whether you’re a teenager, struggling to make ends meet or a wealthy parent from Winnetka, everyone has dreams . . . everyone wants the best for their children.”
