CHI St. Joseph Children's Health held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new child care center, the St. John Neumann School for Children and Families, on May 22.
The 14,000-square-foot center, located at 401 Locust St., Columbia, will help meet the needs of 112 children and families in Columbia. The center, part of CHI St. Joseph Children's Health's commitment to creating healthier communities, will strive to fill a gap in access to quality and affordable childcare services in Columbia Borough and the community. In planning for the St. John Neumann School for Children and Families, CHI St. Joseph Children's Health identified that more than 400 children and families may be in need of child care services in Columbia Borough. Families that are able to find care often struggle with cost and have to travel outside of their community for care.
The renovation and expansion of the building will be completed by Pyramid Construction Services Inc., which anticipates the work at the site to be completed in approximately 10 months. The school is scheduled to open to children and families in the spring of 2020. Steve Funk of Lefevre Funk Architects designed the project. The total projected capital cost of the project is nearly $7 million.
The St. John Neumann School for Children and Families fulfills the priority set by the local board of directors for the organization to promote and develop innovative strategies to improve the quality of and increase access to early childhood learning and child care programs in Lancaster County.
The model adopted at the St. John Neumann School is designed to improve the health and well-being of children and families enrolled while assuring that every child leaves the school ready to learn and prepared for the challenges of the kindergarten program in which they enroll to continue their education.
In addition to quality, affordability and the fair treatment of employees working in child care were essential components in the school's creation. Residents of Columbia will be eligible for a significant tuition discount program based upon their household income, and CHI St. Joseph Children's Health says all employees of the school will be paid a living wage.
The school is in the heart of downtown Columbia, providing easy access for many workers and companies within the borough, as well as a quick connection to Route 30.
To learn more, readers may visit http://www.CHIstjosephchildrenshealth.org.
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