DSU makes progress on state-of-the-art Early Childhood Innovation Center

DOVER, Del. – Bright new beginnings are coming to Delaware State University (DSU).

Signed Beam Signifies New Beginnings

The HBCU is preparing to do more to meet the state’s need for early childhood education, and educators who can provide those important lessons. Thursday, DSU and state officials signed a steel beam that will help hold up those dreams. The beam is one of many in DSU’s new Early Childhood Innovation Center (ECIC), which is currently under construction.

“We need more early childhood spaces for quality teaching and learning, and we also have to do more around preparing early childhood educators,” said Delaware Department of Education Secretary Mark Holodick. “We can only run more centers and provide more seats if we have early childhood educators ready to fill those positions.”

Secretary Holodick says the state is facing an educator shortage, as is the rest of the nation. “This program ramps up our ability to prepare more educators to do that work,” he said.

State-0f-the-Art Facility

The first floor of the state-of-the-art ECIC will come complete with classrooms for the so-called little hornets to learn and play alongside those pursuing a career in early childhood education. Observation rooms with views into the classrooms will also be included.

Upstairs, DSU officials are planning for additional space for administration, community spaces, and work areas for the student teachers.

“What we’re doing upstairs in supporting and growing programs to help people who work in the field will be seen directly downstairs in the lab school,” said ECIC Executive Director Dr. Kim Krzanowski. “If you have highly qualified, supporting, and compensated early childhood professionals, that work bleeds into the work [of students] in the classroom.”

Setting Educators Up For Success

Last spring, DSU launched a new course of study that will tie into future work at the ECIC. The path towards an associate’s degree in early childhood education administration is an exciting one, say university officials.

“What that allows is we can create an innovative program that provides anytime, anywhere learning,” said the Chair of DSU’s Department of Education Dr. Shelley Rouser. “Our program is supporting our early childhood educators to pursue that associate’s degree in a way that’s convenient for them, but also in a way that’s practical.”

The hope is that those educators will eventually go on to open up childcare centers of their own.

“That way we can make sure high-quality early learning makes its way to every corner in Delaware,” Dr. Rouser said.

Looking Ahead

All of this work will prove to be vitally important, Dr. Rouser said, as providing the best education from the earliest ages produces better outcomes for students as they grow older.

“If we just switch our thinking to be proactive, and make those investments instead of being reactive and focusing on remediation, that’s what will really make a change for children in the state of Delaware,” Dr. Rouser said.

DSU officials expect construction on the ECIC to be complete in March of 2025. University leaders plan to host a grand opening not long after that.