NORTHERN BERKSHIRE CHILD CARE COMMITTEE 1969

CHILD CARE OF THE BERKSHIRES, INC. 2014

CELEBRATING 45 YEARS

1969-2014

The mission of Child Care of the Berkshires, Inc. is

to support children and families in improving their lives through education,

child care and family support.

Early Annual Reports of Child Care of the Berkshires

1968

Local church women discuss the need for day care at a Fellowship Meeting. These discussions result in interested community members creating a task force to explore the need for day care in Northern Berkshire County.

1969 The Northern Berkshire Child Care Committee (NBCCC) is incorporated. The Monument Square Day Care Center opens in temporary quarters in the basement of the United Methodist Church located on the Monument Square in North Adams.

1972 NBCCC signs its first contract with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for subsidized child care services. It expands its programming to include a Family Child Care System.

1979 The Monument Square Day Care Center and the Family Child Care System office move into the the Haskins Elementary School operated by the North Adams Public Schools.

1980 The Magic Seasons Early Childhood Center opens on the North Adams State College Campus, based on an inter-generational model that employs part-time senior citizens as assistant teachers. The Center serves preschoolers and school-age children.

1981 The North Adams Public Schools close the Haskins Elementary School. NBCCC begins an extensive weatherization project for the Haskins facility and leases space to other not-for profits: to Head Start, South Forty Alternatives, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Department of Social Services, and the Center for Energy and Technology.

1982 The Norman Rockwell Early Childhood Center opens on-site at Berkshire Community College, again employing senior citizens as assistant teachers.

1982 The Monument Square Early Childhood Center opens its first mixed infant and toddler room, serving nine children.

1982 NBCCC changes its name to Child Care of the Berkshires (CCB) to better reflect its county-wide programming.

1983 The South Berkshire Early Childhood Center (SBECC) opens in the Plain Elementary School in Stockbridge, in collaboration with the South Berkshire Educational Collaborative, again utilizing the inter-generational model and serving 15 preschoolers.

1984 The Children’s Center opens on the Williams College Campus, serving sixteen infants and toddlers. The Center expands the following year to enroll preschoolers.

Child Care of the Berkshires’ Highlights of 45 Years

1985 Child Care of the Berkshires’ Preschool Center opens on the Berkshire Community College campus in Great Barrington, serving 16 preschoolers.

1985 CCB contracts with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Social Services to operate the Voucher Management Program.

1986 CCB purchases its first computer, a portable Compaq.

1987 CCB contracts with the Commonwealth to operate the Resources for Child Care Program.

1987 CCB contracts with the MA Department of Social Services to operate the Young Parents Program, a specialized child care and support program for teen parents and their children.

1988 CCB opens the Main Street Child Development Center in Williamstown, in collaboration with the Orchards Hotel and its owner Chet Soling, enrolling infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

1989 CCB expands its programming to operate the Pregnant and Parenting Adolescent Support (PASSAGES) Program, CCB’s first family support program with funding from the Department of Public Health.

1989 CCB closes its Preschool Center in Great Barrington due to low enrollment.

1990 Child Care of the Berkshires becomes a member of the Williamstown Community Chest.

1991 The RCC and the Voucher Programs merge into one program.

1992 CCB opens a new Infant and Toddler Center in the Redfield House in Pittsfield, serving 12 children.

1993 CCB expands its programming with two new programs: the Parenting Partnership Program and the Northern Berkshire Community Partnership Program.

1994 CCB contracts with the Department of Public Health to operate the Tobacco Education Program funded with new anti-smoking monies from the Commonwealth. CCB hosts its first Community Baby Shower.

1995 The Norman Rockwell Early Childhood Center and the South Berkshire Early Childhood Center become the first programs of CCB to be accredited by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), a mark of high quality.

1996 The Magic Seasons Center and the Williams College Children’s Center achieve NAEYC accreditation.

1996 CCB transfers the operation of the Redfield Infant and Toddler Center to Berkshire Children and Families.

1997 CCB expands its programming to operate the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Education Program funded through the Department of Public Health.

1998 The Monument Square Early Childhood Center is accredited by NAEYC.

1995 CCB closes the Main Street Center due to low enrollment.

1998 The Board of Directors approves CCB’s employer-supported pension for staff.

1998 CCB becomes a member agency of the Berkshire United Way.

1999 CCB contracts with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to operate the Northern Berkshire Family Net Program and provides play and learn groups and parent education for families with children under the age of three years.

2000 The PASSAGES Program is expanded and re-named the Healthy Families Program with funding from the Children’s Trust Fund.

2001 CCB expands its programming and implements the nationally recognized Parent-Child Home Program, an early literacy home-visiting program, with new funding from the State.

2001 CCB relocates all the Pittsfield programs into one central location at 152 North Street in Pittsfield: the Family Child Care System, the Healthy Families Program, the Tobacco Prevention Program and Resources for Child Care.

2001 CCB holds its first All Day, All Staff Professional Training Day.

2002 The Magic Seasons Child Care Center is relocated to an independent site on Curran Highway, due to renovations on the campus of MCLA.

2003 CCB implements the Family Development Credential (FDC) Training Program with 12 staff members earning the FDC credential from Tufts University.

2004 Family Net’s programming is expanded with a new grant to open a Family Resource Center from the Children’s Trust Fund.

2004 CCB partners with the Greylock Federal Credit Union to host the 26th Annual Bees Pendergast Golf Tournament, raising $12,000. CCB would host the golf tournament again in the following year.

2004 Children’s Trust Fund awards CCB a new grant to offer the parent education series, The Parenting Journey, to both North and Central County families.

2006 The SBECC Center moves from the Plain Elementary School to Muddy Brook, the new elementary school in Great Barrington.

2006 The students from McCann Technical School build an access ramp for the Haskins Community Center, funded with a grant from the Berkshire Life Charitable Foundation.

2007 Early childhood teachers and family child care educators adopt a new curriculum and assessment tool published by Teaching Strategies with grant funding from the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

1998 CCB celebrates the Week of the Young Child with a dinner for educators in North County.

2007 Child Care of the Berkshires adopts a new logo.

2007 CCB is awarded a new grant from the Department of Early Education and Care to provide consultation, training and mentoring to teachers and educators to address children’s challenging behavioral issues.

2007 CCB and the Children’s Trust Fund hold its first Steps of Hope event on the steps of Pittsfield’s City Hall, to raise awareness of the negative effects of child abuse and the positive results of prevention activities. Each pair of shoes represents one reported case of child abuse per month in Berkshire County.

2007 The Family Resource Center hosts its first Touch-A-Truck Event.

2008 The operation of the Children’s Center is transferred to Williams College.

2009 CCB embraces the Strengthening Families philosophy in working with families: encouraging parent resilience, reducing parent isolation, increasing the knowledge of parenting and child development, offering support in times of crisis, and nurturing children’s emotional development.

2010 CCB is awarded a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to renovate space in the Haskins Community Center for the Monument Square Early Childhood Center. New flooring, lighting, cubbies and storage areas in the classrooms are added.

2010 EEC regionalizes the child care resource and referral services. CCB’s Resources for Child Care Program ceases to exist.

2010 CCB’s Parent-Child Home Program celebrates its 10th anniversary with special recognition by Senator Ben Downing.

2011 The Family Resource Center aligns its programming and merges four programs— the Family Net Program, the Community Partnership Program, the Parent-Child Home Program and the Family Resource Center.

2012 CCB completes a second round of renovations to the Haskins Community Center, adding new exterior doors, classroom lighting, additional classroom storage, enhancements to the FRC clothing exchange room, and a total make-over of the infant room at the Monument Square Early Childhood Center, again with partial funding from the USDA.

2012 CCB is awarded a new grant of $305,000 from the Department of Public Health that allows the Healthy Families Program to expand home-visiting services. The grant also funds Berkshire Children and Families’ Parents as Teachers home-visiting program.

2013 CCB expands its North Adams school-age program capacity with a City of North Adams Community Development grant.

2013 CCB expands its programming and implements a Youth Mentoring Program in Northern Berkshire. CCB hosts its first Bowl-A-Thon to raise funds for the Mentoring Program.

2013 CCB’s family support programs work in collaboration with other community agencies to host Parent Cafés as a new strategy to engage parents in conversations about parenting.

2014 UPK funding for quality enhancements in preschool programs is expanded to include all three preschool classrooms at the Monument Square, the Norman Rockwell and South Berkshire Early Childhood Centers.  

2014 The Monument Square Early Childhood Center renovates its preschool outdoor play space, adding a bike path, tall grasses, trees, and other natural elements with partial funding from the Center’s fundraising efforts. The outdoor design was developed by the playground consultant, Learning by the Yard, with EEC funding.  

 

2012 CCB‘s teachers and Family Child Care educators embrace the STEM curriculum—Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The Barrett Fund provides mentoring and STEM materials for nine FCC educators in Adams. CCB receives four IBM computers for all of its preschool rooms from EEC through a competitive grant process.

Child Care of the Berkshires, Inc.

210 State Street North Adams, MA 01247

413-663-6593 www.ccberkshire.org