Seton is center of kid care

It was no surprise to the staff of the Seton Family Resource Center in Watervliet when it received a four-star rating from Cornell University as a "childcare program of excellence" last year.

"There wasn't a lot of [extra] work we put into it. The staff and the environment were already in place," explained program manager Deborah Boswell.

Avery (last name withheld for privacy) could vouch for that stellar rating. Rocking on a plastic horse in one of the center's classrooms as he waits to go home, the toddler has had breakfast, a hot lunch -- like Spanish rice or beef stew made by the center's full-time cook -- and an afternoon snack.

He's also played and napped with his peers, while watched over by two teachers, and he'll go home with a form those teachers filled out, explaining what he ate, what activities he participated in and how long he slept.

Eye on kids

Avery's playtime may seem simple, noted Mrs. Boswell, but it's part of the center's award-winning curriculum: Putting round and square blocks into a "shape box," for instance, teaches hand-eye coordination and problem-solving.

"That's how children learn," she stated. There's no official curriculum for daycare centers, but Seton follows standards for age-appropriate curriculum introduced by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Though the Seton building started its life as a Catholic elementary school, it's been a daycare center for a quarter-century, serving children from six weeks to five years old. Families come to the center from as far away as Albany, Saratoga and Rensselaer.

Hurdles

Seton has two infant classrooms for 12 babies up to 18 months old, three toddler classrooms and three preschool classrooms for children from three to five years old. Nearly all of the children have their tuition subsidized to some extent by the Department of Social Services (DSS).

Unfortunately, said Mrs. Boswell, it's getting harder and harder for needy families to get subsidies, as the counties that fund them have their own funding from the state cut. The center is licensed to care for 102 children, but has only 61 this year.

"Last year, Albany County started running a major deficit and pulled benefits from a lot of families who were then unable to send their kids here," said Mrs. Boswell. "We probably lost 15 to 20."

Busy day

Of course, Tracy and Amaya (last names withheld) aren't thinking about such problems. Giggling into the collars of their winter coats, the four-year-olds swing booted feet as they show off their latest projects at the end of the day.

Valentine-making has been on the agenda in the preschool classrooms -- part of a unit on the letter "V," in which the children also sorted vegetables.

Tracy points to a large piece of poster board held by her teacher, covered with rubber-stamped red hearts. "Now we're bringing them home," she declares.

Making it easy

"Learning doesn't have to be painful," Mrs. Boswell pointed out. Each of Seton's many-windowed classrooms is set up with a book corner and a space for "dramatic play," she said, and children can be divided into groups for different activities.

There's even a large "gross-motor room," which is an indoor playground where kids can ride tricycles or zoom down a slide when the weather outside is gloomy.

The center mainstreams some children with developmental disabilities into its classrooms and is also home to a respite program sponsored through the Rensselaer County DSS for about 25 at-risk children. While parents in this program work on job skills or go to counseling, the children come to Seton for day care.

No distinction is made among the children. "When you walk into any classroom, you cannot tell who's who or why they're here," said Mrs. Boswell.

Quality program

To achieve its four-star rating, Seton was judged on its health and safety history, the materials provided for the children, the interaction between the children and teachers, and what materials are available to the staff.

The director noted that having adult-sized furniture for adults and child-sized furniture for children is actually a standard of quality -- and something that's rare in many daycare centers. The staff members at Seton also have two lounges and a computer for research.

The highest rating a daycare center can receive is five stars. Mrs. Boswell said the only reason Seton did not reach that pinnacle is because of staff turnover; assistant teachers and "floaters" who are still pursuing career paths often move on.

Long haul

However, some teachers make Seton a lifelong career. Assistant program manager Carol Drobneck has spent 16 years watching children mature, graduate from the program and head off for kindergarten.

"Graduation usually does it for me," she said of her emotional reaction to watching them leave.

Mrs. Boswell added: "You see them come in, and they can hardly walk; and, all of a sudden, they're talking a blue streak!"

(Contact Seton Family Resource Center at 272-4964. The Seton Family Resource Center also rents space to Head Start of Watervliet and to "Even Start," a literacy program for families from Watervliet, Troy and Green Island that helps parents get their high school equivalency diplomas.)

(2/24/05)