The University of Notre Dame Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC) will expand its licensed preschool program and boost the ranks of local preschool teachers with a grant from Early Learning Indiana.

The $335,000 grant is part of Early Learning Indiana’s Early Years Initiative, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc., a private philanthropic organization based in Indianapolis.

“Research is clear that a child’s brain develops most between birth and age 3, and that the neural pathways formed in these earliest years of life form the basis for all future learning and development,” said Maureen Weber, president and CEO of Early Learning Indiana. “That’s why the work of organizations like Notre Dame’s Robinson Center is so critical. Expanding the availability of high-quality early learning services is an important strategy for ensuring that more infants and toddlers have a foundation for a lifetime of learning.”

“We are grateful to both Early Learning Indiana and Lilly Endowment Inc. for this grant, which will allow us to expand our existing preschool program while supporting members of the RCLC family who want to become early childhood educators themselves,” said Susan Devetski, director of the RCLC. “These objectives align with the University’s strategic framework, which calls for continued engagement with South Bend and the surrounding community.”

The three-year grant will allow the RCLC to expand its preschool program with a second location at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church in South Bend and to partner with local schools to support the operation and expansion of their existing preschool programs.

The RCLC serves 15 children from its current location along Eddy Street in South Bend, where it operates a state-licensed preschool program with a child-centered curriculum designed to foster social, emotional, physical, cognitive and creative development through hands-on learning and play.

Based on a whole-child approach, the preschool program offers access to early intervention services for speech, language, vision, hearing, lead exposure and other developmental markers, as well as kindergarten assessment and parent and family supports.

“Our mission is to build bridges within our community. Not only does this grant address an emergent need in South Bend, but it also allows the RCLC and Sunnyside to build infrastructure to continue serving families, regardless of socioeconomic status.”

Situated along Frances Street in the city’s East Bank Neighborhood, the Sunnyside location will serve an additional 42 students with two preschool classrooms and one toddler classroom. The preschool classrooms will serve 15 students each. The toddler classroom will serve 12 students, ages 18 to 24 months.

“It has been such a joy to partner with the RCLC in providing space for high-quality early childhood care,” said Rev. Joel Moody, senior pastor of Sunnyside Presbyterian Church. “Our mission is to build bridges within our community. Not only does this grant address an emergent need in South Bend, but it also allows the RCLC and Sunnyside to build infrastructure to continue serving families, regardless of socioeconomic status.”

Combined, the existing RCLC site along with the Sunnyside site and the school sites will host as many as 129 students, including as many as 117 preschool students, ages 3 to 5.

Current data from the Indiana Youth Institute suggest 60 percent of Hoosier children ages 3 and 4 are not in a preschool or early childhood setting. St. Joseph County has 14,919 children under the age of 6. Currently, there are child care seats for only 7,541 children, underscoring the need for high-quality early childhood programming in the county.

Through formal licensing and the pursuit of state voucher funding, the new sites will transition to financial sustainability at the conclusion of the grant cycle, joining the existing preschool location in that regard.

The Early Years Initiative grant will also allow the RCLC to assist parents and caregivers who want to become early childhood educators by helping them to navigate coursework and licensure processes in Indiana, with the expectation of enrolling at least one person per year in a recognized state credential program.

Currently, five former RCLC parents or volunteers are licensed early childhood educators in the area. Two work in dual-language immersion programs, while a third teaches wrap-around education classes in Spanish as part of the RCLC’s Talk With Your Baby program.

According to Brighter Futures Indiana, because of inadequate compensation and burnout, among other factors, there is a meager and dwindling supply of qualified early childhood educators in Indiana, with a shortfall that is expected to top 9,000 statewide in the coming years. Male teachers, teachers of color and dual-language teachers are in especially short supply.

“High-quality instruction is incredibly important for the development of our youngest learners,” said Jennifer Wittenbrink Ortega, RCLC early childhood program director. “Unfortunately, demand for licensed early childhood educators routinely outstrips supply, leaving many children and families left out. This grant is an important first step in addressing this problem in our area.”

Established in 2001, the RCLC is an off-campus educational initiative of Notre Dame in partnership with Northeast Neighborhood residents, offering a variety of programs for children and adults as well as classes, clubs and lectures for seniors.

For more information, visit rclc.nd.edu.