CONTACT:
- Suzanne Smith, Department of Human Development, 360-546-9714, smithsu@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@vancouver.wsu.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Washington State University Vancouver will celebrate the opening of its Child Development Program Kindergarten with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 12:15 p.m. Sept. 30 in the McClaskey building. Tours of the new facility will be available beginning at 12:45 p.m.
The CDP Kindergarten opened its doors Sept. 1. The private, full-day kindergarten is an expansion of the university’s successful Child Development Program. The new facility offers children's learning areas, a library and playground.
The kindergarten also provides a learning laboratory for 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø students. Those pursuing a degree in human development sometimes observe the kindergarten classroom as part of their studies. 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø nursing students provide hearing screenings to the children as part of their coursework.
Funding for the Child Development Program Kindergarten was made possible by a gift from the Tod and Maxine McClaskey Foundation in 2008. The $1.5 million donation was the foundation’s first signature gift. Members of the McClaskey family and the foundation will attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony and have lunch with the kindergartners in celebration.
Tod and Maxine McClaskey were married for more than 56 years. Together they valued children and education. They especially enjoyed spending time with their grandchildren and liked teaching them new things such as reading.
The McClaskeys were partners in everything they did. During their lifetimes, most of their gifts were anonymous. They enjoyed helping grass-roots efforts, and focused their giving in the communities where they lived or did business.
Tod McClaskey made his fortune in the hotel business. In 1959, McClaskey and his business partner, Ed Pietz, purchased the 89-room Thunderbird Motor Inn in Portland, Ore. That was the humble beginnings of the Thunderbird-Red Lion hotel chain, which became the largest privately held hotel chain west of the Mississippi by the time they sold it in 1984.
Upon their deaths, the Tod and Maxine McClaskey Foundation was established to support the communities they loved and to honor their legacy as it funds important projects throughout the Northwest, but primarily in Clark County, Wash. The foundation’s mission to support education and health fits nicely with the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø Child Development Program.
Suzanne Smith, associate professor and director of human development, is grateful for the McClaskey's charitable donation.
"The department of human development is indebted to the McClaskey's for making the kindergarten a possibility for us. Their foundation has been involved since the early planning stages and is committed to the long-term success of this project," said Smith.
The goal of the CDP kindergarten is to prepare children from varying backgrounds for the formal structure of classroom-based learning. The private kindergarten provides students with academic skills in literacy, math, science and social studies while offering them social opportunities for managing themselves in a group setting.
"The CDP Kindergarten gives the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø campus and Southwest Washington a cutting-edge option for early childhood education. We have a small student-to-teacher ratio that provides for flexibility and a more personalized learning environment," said Smith.
The CDP Kindergarten is open to the children of 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø students, staff, faculty members and community members. Tuition is $715 per month. Class size is limited to 18 and space is still available. For more information about the program, call Kathy Austin, early childhood specialist for the Child Development Program at 360-546-9722.
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