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Imagination Station Child Care & Preschool to open new Batavia site in mid-May

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Imagination Station Child Care & Preschool is expanding its operation and adding a new location in Batavia. Known as the “Batavia East Center,” the location is scheduled to open mid-May and is located at 5079 Clinton Street Road in Batavia, the former Grandma’s Lovin’ Care building.

The center will have a variety of new features for Imagination Station and upgrades from its current location in Batavia. The building will have cameras in every classroom, a private playground, and doors throughout which lead to the outside, and a brand-new school-age classroom in the lower half of the building, which will be over 1,000 square feet!

Imagination Station is upgrading the building to include painting throughout, all new window treatments, new flooring in needed areas, an improved parking lot, and all new equipment and furniture in the classrooms.

“It’s a beautiful building and we’re excited for children to be occupying it again!" said owner Kelly Kronbeck. "We’re giving the building some love and attention, then we’ll be ready to open in the spring.

"We look forward to being able to create a more intimate environment at each of our Batavia locations since overall they’ll both be smaller in size."

Imagination Station, which is a locally owned and operated child-care provider, currently has a total of five centers, including the newest Batavia addition.

The new and improved center on Clinton Street Road will accommodate children from the ages of 6 weeks to 12 years old and has capacity for 112 students. The center will consist of two infant classrooms, three toddler classrooms, two preschool classrooms, and one school-age classroom.

Imagination Station prides itself in offering an educationally based program that is safe for its students and professionally run for its families. They credit their success to the hands-on approach they take in running their centers, but also by offering a high-quality program at an affordable rate, which is about 20 percent lower than its competitors between Buffalo and Rochester.

Interested families can tour the existing location by setting up an appointment! Enrollment is now available for both locations and is being filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call 585-343-0990 or visit the company’s website at www.istationccp.com for more information.

Oakfield native selected as director of GCC's Child Care Center

By Billie Owens

Genesee Community College has named Oakfield native Staci Williams as the new director of the Genesee Community College Association's Child Care Center.

Along with the assistance of the office manager, Patti Cassatt, she oversees the center in all aspects, including child enrollment, finances and budget and supervising teachers, assistant teachers, and work-study students.

She also works closely with the Office of Children and Family Services to keep the Center licensed and in compliance with New York State regulations.

"I am very happy to have settled here in the GCCA Child Care Center," Williams said. "I look forward to continuing the high level of care that the center currently offers. I also look forward to increasing our enrollment numbers and exploring our summer child care opportunities."

Not only is she an alum of Genesee, she previously worked for the college as a STAR coordinator from 2001-05.

In 2006, she worked as a lead teacher at Holley ABCD Child Care Center. She then made the transition to the public school system where she worked from 2006-2009 at Oakfield-Alabama Central School as a first- and fifth-grade teacher. Most recently, she was a first-grade teacher in the Newark Central School System for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Williams holds a master's degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Curriculum and Instruction from Buffalo State College, a bachelor's degree in Childhood Education from SUNY Geneseo, and an associate's degree in Elementary Education from Genesee Community College.

She lives in Oakfield with her husband, John, and their three daughters Kayleigh, Katelynn and Summer. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, scrapbooking, photography and spending time with her family.

Summer Child Care Program Available at Genesee Community College

By Howard B. Owens

Press Release:

BATAVIA, NY -- The Genesee Community College Association Child Care Center is pleased to announce the introduction of a summer child care program. This is a pilot program and will run on a first come, first served basis. The summer session runs from May 26 - July 31, 2009. Interested participants are asked to fill out an application and pay a $15 application fee. Applications will be due no later than May 11, 2009.

The GCCA Child Care Center offers complete child care services for children six weeks to five years of age. The hours are from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday to Friday, following Genesee's academic calendar. Children of students, staff and faculty, and the community on a space available basis may use the GCCA Child Care Center.

The Center is newly renovated with safe and developmental resources. The staff is trained and supervised by the Director, Maggie Hagen. There are educational programs, and lunch and snacks are provided. Safe sleeping equipment is available for naps. The Center is also accessible for children with disabilities.

Rates are set according to the age and the number of days that the child uses the Center. The U.S. Department of Education and the State University of New York awarded grant funds for child care tuition subsidies for income eligible Genesee Community College students. For detailed rates, please visit http://www.genesee.edu/index.cfm/general/dspArticle/campuslife.childcare/rates.cfm.

The GCCA Child Care Center has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the nation's leading organization of early childhood professionals.

For further information, please contact Patti Cassatt, Office Manager of the Center at 585-345-6833. The Center is located at the main entrance to the Campus in Batavia. For an application, please visit http://marketing.genesee.edu/images/GCC_Childcare_Application.pdf.  Application deadline is May 11th.

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