Pierpont officials dedicate relocated Early Childhood Education program

Nov. 2—CLARKSBURG — Pierpont Community and Technical College's Early Childhood Education program finally has a new home.

After the 2021 separation between Fairmont State University and Pierpont, the two institutions entered into a memorandum of understanding, splitting up any shared property and forcing Pierpont to relocate three of its programs from the university's Locust Avenue campus.

One of those programs was Pierpont's Early Childhood Education program, which had been housed in the Education Building on Fairmont State's campus for years since the program's creation.

After the agreement was signed, Pierpont officials have been mulling over locations to house the program. Top of the list of ideas was to retrofit space in Pierpont's Gaston Caperton Center in downtown Clarksburg.

This move was especially attractive due to its relatively cheap cost and it would further cement Pierpont's presence in Harrison County. Last year Pierpont announced its Veterinary Tech program would also be located in Clarksburg.

"As we started moving into Clarksburg by locating our VetTech program here, we looked at the footprint of Pierpont in the [Gaston Caperton] facility and we quickly saw how this space could quickly be reimagined and innovated," Pierpont Provost Michael Waide said. "The Early Childhood department had that vision, so as a member of the leadership team, it was exciting to see them realize that vision."

Tuesday, officials from the college and community gathered at the Gaston Caperton Center to cut the ribbon and officially dedicate the newly-renovated space.

The program's new home will take advantage of two spaces in the Gaston Caperton Center that have gone mostly unused for several years. One was a student lounge that has been transformed into a pre-K classroom, and across the hall an old bookstore space was changed into another classroom.

Settling in

Two of the individuals who led the charge in planning and pursuing the program's move to Clarksburg were Pierpont's dean of general education and professional studies, David Beighley, and Lori Barrett, coordinator of the early childhood program.

Beighley has presented the plan to Pierpont's Board of Governors several times and was excited to see the project finally come together and take shape after a year and a half of planning.

"It's absolutely exciting and we're really looking forward to make this program a part of the Clarksburg community," Beighley said.

"We've worked on coordinating with some of the businesses in the area and working with them," Barrett said. "This will help us to expand where our children are learning in the community and to opening things up."

Once officially certified, the program will open as a public pre-K provider in Harrison County. Currently, the program is operating as a private provider until the certification is approved, but all the boxes have been checked and it's just a matter of time until certification is approved.

Beighley expects the certification to come through by the start of the spring semester.

Pierpont has invested around $200,000 into relocating the early childhood program using state funds they received specifically to relocate its programs off of Fairmont State's property.

Other relocation plans

The Early Childhood Education program is one of Pierpont's four programs currently being relocated off of Fairmont State property. It is the first of the four to cut the ribbon on its new space.

Next year, Pierpont officials hope to also open the new spaces for the Culinary Arts programs and the VetTech program.

The culinary programs will be housed in a 9,500 square-foot space inside the Middletown Commons in White Hall. That space has been built out specifically for the programs and will contain two full kitchens and offices for the faculty and staff involved. Pierpont officials expect to cut the ribbon on that facility early in the new year.

VetTech is also scheduled to open early in 2023, but closer to the spring. In 2021, Pierpont purchased an old doctor's office next to the Gaston Caperton center to be remodeled into the fully-functioning veterinary facility.

Pierpont Chief Financial Officer Dale Bradley is happy with the progress made so far with both projects.

"Everything is on target and we're very pleased with that," Bradley said. "The culinary [project] is coming along very well — it's a beautiful space. ... The VetTech project is on target and is about 65 percent done."

Aviation Maintenance

The fourth program awaiting relocation is Pierpont's Aviation Maintenance program housed at the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center on the campus of the North Central West Virginia Airport in Bridgeport. That property was handed to Fairmont State in the 2021 agreement, but Pierpont hasn't settled on a new location just yet.

Pierpont Board of Governors Chair David Hinkle announced at a recent ribbon cutting at the NCWV Airport that Pierpont will be moving the program into a new facility to be built in the airport's newly-developed business park.

At Tuesday's ribbon cutting, Hinkle said that project is probably about two years from completion.

Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522 or by email at dkirk@timeswv.com.