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Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD An expansion into the city of Holyoke and emphasizing the importance of early childhood education had led to a change of name for Springfield Day Nursery. The pre-school will be now known as Square One and its new slogan is "This is where it starts." Square One President and CEO Joan Kagan made the announcement on Thursday at a press conference at the school's Main Street location in Springfield. The name change was the product of two years of board retreats and planning, Kagan said. Kagan said that after 124 years "day nursery" no longer reflects all of the programs the organization provides or the impact the organization has in its efforts to "breaking the cycle of unemployment and poverty, to developing our future work force and to advancing universal preschool policy and legislation." Square One serves 1,000 children a day in its five centers, 58 family childcare homes and seven before-and-after school programs. The non-profit agency recently opened its fifth center at the corner of High and Dwight Streets in Holyoke. Kagan said Square One would undertake a large marketing campaign over the next few months to establish the new name. She did not rule out an expansion into other communities and said it was the organization's mission to address unmet needs in a community. Square One has specialized in affordable daycare. According to the agency's statistics, half of the families using their services earn less than 41 percent of Hampden County's median household income, roughly $15,000 a year. Over 80 percent of the parents either work full time, attend school or are enrolled in job training programs. Currently there are 1,200 children in Springfield and Holyoke on waitlists for entry into the pre-school program. Kagan told the audience gathered at the unveiling of the name rendered in LEGO blocks "We know that between birth and age five that 85 percent of who we are is developed and that window of opportunity for learning happens at this time. It is during this time period that the stage is set for a child's future cognitive, emotional, social and physical development. If a child misses this window of opportunity they rarely if ever catch up and are more likely to fail in school, get pregnant, get involved in drugs, gangs and criminal activity, drop out of school and end up on welfare and/or the criminal justice system. With a quality preschool experience, children are more likely to graduate with a skill or go to college and avoid a life of crime and poverty." | ||||||
