(Photo above | Courtesy of Inspire Early Learning Centers)
Inspire Early Learning Centers announce a partnership to continue care for children and families from Bend Community Center (BCC) Preschool. Families were informed in December, 2017 that BCC’s preschool program would be closing on February 2, 2018. The directors of the two schools collaborated to create a bridge between the two programs for families to seamlessly continue child care services.
Inspire Early Learning Centers are happy to continue the community center’s childcare mission of providing a safe and nurturing environment that fosters development. This mission will be supplemented with Inspire’s increased focus on building resilience for all children in their care. Resilience helps children manage various stressors throughout their lives, from misplacing a toy to a life altering traumatic event. The organization will be working with OSU-Cascades in order to implement resilience building strategies in the classroom and track child development throughout the process.
Kara Tachikawa, Inspire’s executive director, believes, “We are on the brink of a new understanding in our communities — that adults are affected by events from their childhood, but not just in their personalities. Our long-term physical and mental health, as well as our economic productivity is based in part on what happens to and around us as children. Creating a solid, positive foundation in childhood, results in a vastly improved adult life.” Using information from Trauma Informed Oregon and the ground-breaking ACES Study, Inspire Early Learning Centers will strive to become a trauma informed organization on every level.
In addition to this work, Inspire is looking to address the growing child care needs in our community. Currently most providers in Central Oregon have no openings, and many have one year or longer waitlists. This leaves families without options, and can create problems in the workforce when one family member must stay home to care for their child(ren). Inspire Early Learning Centers will start a capital campaign this year, with the goal of opening a new childcare center in Bend when funding is secured. The organization is hoping for support from businesses and individuals across the region, as well as local and national foundations.
inspirepreschool.org • 541-330-1437
