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| 10/15/2008 10:58:00 AM Email this article • Print this article |
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Sharon Sinn has been teaching at IACC for 36 year, most recently in the Rainbow Room at the organization’s main center. Here she is with some of her students. Back row, from left, are, Pam, Kennedy (on Pam’s lap), Sharon Sinn, EhKamwe (on Sharon’s lap), Patrick, Carrie and Wyatt (on Carrie’s lap). In front, from left, are Carly, Faith and Darren. (Photo by Rachel Philipson) |
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IACC celebrates 40 years of meeting the needs of Ithaca's youth
Rob Montana
Managing Editor
It's not every day one hears about a daycare center that's been around for 40 years.
But that's the case for the Ithaca Area Church and Community Daycare Center, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
Established in 1968 by a group of people from the area churches to fill a need for daytime child care, the IACC has full-day programs - from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. - for 2-year-olds at the First Baptist Church at DeWitt Park and, at the First Presbyterian Church, 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, as well as a Pre-K program run in collaboration with the Ithaca City School District. The organization - which is not affiliated with the churches that provide the sites for the care - also has school-age child care for children in Kindergarten through 5th grade from 2:30-6 p.m. on school days, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. when school is not in session.
IACC Executive Director Tammy Zuccala said there is no doubt there is still a need for childcare services not only in Ithaca, but also across the country.
"Parents today have to work," she said. "Society has changed to where most families have to have two people working, and there are also single-parent families."
The center offers plenty of education throughout the day, with a focus on developing social and independent skills, and creativity. There is a play-yard for large motor development and imaginative play, and the children go on a number of field trips around the community such as to the Tompkins County Public Library, Cornell orchards and the Sciencenter.
"There are so many sights and sounds here," Zuccala said of educational opportunities found in local field trips. "There is a lot to offer in this small place."
What she is most proud of are her employees.
"The staff is very dedicated and caring," said Zuccala. "They really go above and beyond to meet the needs of the kids and the families we serve."
One such staff member, teacher Sharon Sinn, has been doing that for a number of years now - having taught at IACC for 36 of its 40 years.
"Teaching was very different then, and I think the parents also were different," Sinn said. "They didn't seem as stressed as they appear to be these days."
One of the biggest changes in Sinn's time with IACC is the children that go there.
"I think a lot of children are making their own decisions now," she said. "By that I mean, I think a lot of them choose what they do and when they go to bed.
"I think a lot of parents are busy these days and I think sometimes they forget these are little children and we still have to make decisions for them," Sinn added.
What hasn't changed is the enthusiasm she sees in the children, no matter what the activity being done or lesson being learned.
"I probably enjoy that the most," Sinn said. "The kids are always absorbing whatever we're trying to teach them. They're little sponges and they absorb everything."
She's also made connections with quite a few families - around 700 - from Ithaca and the surrounding communities. And those seeds of bonding sown in her early years are bearing fruit now.
"It's nice to feel that I have helped, in some small way, to raise their child," Sinn said. "The other thing that's nice right now, the children I've had when they were 3- and 4-year-olds are coming back and bringing their children here.
"One year, I had this father and mother bring their child in; the mother had been in my classroom as a little girl and the father was in another classroom. They were fast friends then, they remained fast friends and had a little girl, who they brought here," she added. "I have not had any come back as grandparents yet, though."
With no siblings, Sinn feels like the staff at IACC is her family, and said that's probably one of the reasons she's continued to work there.
"We are a very close-knit staff," she said, adding she's proud the organization is celebrating its 40th year. "We've definitely had some rocky times, but things look bright.
"We have a good administration and we have some positive things going for us," Sinn added.
For more information, call (607) 273-3013 or visit www.iacc.com. n
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Suicide has recently come to Ithaca in a very public, and at times controversial, way. This past academic year, after three years with no suicides, Cornell experienced what is known in the scientific community as a "suicide cluster." OK, so maybe you're like me and you thought this whole JetBlue flight attendant story was good for maybe one news cycle.  |
