Mankato district to debut second phase of Center for Learning at ribbon cutting

Aug. 16—Community members will be able to take a first look at Mankato Area Public School's newest Center for Learning renovations when the district unveils its latest additions at a ribbon cutting Thursday.

The additions mark the completion of Phase Two out of three for the early learning center, which will consolidate most of the district's preschool and early childhood family education programs under one roof.

The grand opening is 10:30 a.m. at 15 Map Drive. Staff will be offering tours of the site after the Thursday morning ceremony.

Phase Two of construction, which the district completed in early April, adds two additional pods of four preschool classrooms, pods specific to early childhood family education, indoor play space, a cafeteria and more to the site.

The district already finished Phase One, which included a four-classroom pod and the administration pod. That opened to a smaller number of students last September.

However, this upcoming school year will be the Center for Learning's first year with three pods open to its preschoolers, said Joan Morrison, the district's supervisor of preschool and early childhood screening programming.

"We were located in six different buildings prior to this," Morrison said. "We are still serving the same amount, and we'll be able to grow and continue to serve more by using the space in this building."

Morrison said the site will have 17 sections of preschool with multiple morning and afternoon sessions available.

The site can enroll about 210 preschoolers, she said, adding that they're close to filling every spot. She added that the site's 3-year-old classes can take up to 15 students while their 4-year-old classes can take up to 20.

Children from across the area from infant to age 5 will be served at the site, and preschoolers from any of the Mankato district attendance areas can enroll, Assistant Director of Early Learning Katie Gag said.

Gag said one major benefits to having everything under one roof is that all of their supports are centralized.

"Any child who has a need can have that need met," she said. "The other huge benefit is the access to the outdoor space."

"Kids love the opportunity to just run and explore, even being able to do some of our structured learning in outdoor spaces, that has been a huge benefit."

In addition to preschool classes, the ACES early learning program and early childhood family education programs, which are classes for kids and their parents, also will be available.

While early childhood family education isn't new to the district, Katti Hurley, the program's supervisor, said the district is adding new elements now that it's at the Center for Learning, including social and emotional learning classes and nature-based learning opportunities.

"We're going to be utilizing a lot of the outdoor spaces this year for a lot of our classes. Part of our expectations this year, we'll be outside more for our classes," Hurley said.

"Not only the playgrounds, but just letting them explore ... so having the child lead, and their parents or teachers can follow that lead."

The site will also offer early childhood screening and early childhood special education classes.

Students enrolled at the Center for Learning will start Sept. 11.

The final phase of construction would be the only one out of the three to be funded as part of a larger potential bond referendum, which the School Board will decide whether to hold this fall at their Monday meeting.

The other phases were funded through a lease levy, which gives districts the ability to use levy funds to lease instructional space.

The last phase would add more classroom pods, a production kitchen, the district's print shop, youth gymnasiums and a maintenance shop to the site.