News & Updates: Newsroom

RTA News

 

Nov. 15, 2002

 

New Head Start pre-school center opens near RTA Station

 

CLEVELAND -- A dedication ceremony and open house for the new Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland (CEOGC) Head Start Center at the Louis Stokes Rapid Station/Windermere will be held noon at Friday, Nov. 22.

 

The Head Start Center, 14209 Euclid Ave., East Cleveland, houses 14 classrooms to serve families with infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers. Of the14 classrooms, each designed with a curved and carpeted alcove for storytelling, four will be dedicated to the needs of infants and toddlers in the Early Head Start Program.

 

The state-of-the-art center is equipped with cameras in each classroom, an observation room where parents can view children’s interactions and an amphitheater-style training room. Daily nutritious meals will also be provided and prepared on-site.

 

In 1995, RTA applied for, and received, a $3.2 million Livable Communities grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). RTA contributed $800,000 to the project. The grant allowed RTA to acquire property, relocate tenants, demolish buildings and prepare the site for the Head Start Center, as well as build a canopied walkway connecting the center with the rail station. The concept of providing a day-care center adjacent to a transit facility has worked well in other cities.

 

The interior of the Head Start facility is designed with a street motif, including interior street light fixtures in each hallway. The facility also boasts an entry way that is indicated by a 40-foot red-shingled cone, meant to create an enticing entry for the children and a beacon of hope to the community, officials say.

 

Large, playful and colorful windows allow for natural light to flood the classrooms. Architects from Fleischman and Partners explain the classroom layout was left open to allow individual teachers to continually be creative by changing around furniture to accommodate changing curriculums.

 

Jacqueline A. Middleton, CEOGC’s Executive Director, says she is delighted that CEOGC Head Start can continue to provide needed services to the community.

 

“I am especially happy that we can help to eliminate one of the major hurdles that working families face. Linking Head Start services to public transit helps to alleviate some of the stress families may encounter,” she says.

 

Following the dedication on Friday afternoon, members of the community will be able to tour the Head Start Center and to participate in an afternoon of family-filled activities.

 

For information on the grand opening and dedication ceremony, contact Candice Amos at 216-696-9077, ext. 294.

 

Background

 

CEOGC is Cuyahoga County’s Community Action Agency, founded in 1964 to help fight the War on Poverty. In addition to the Head Start and Early Head Start Program, its other programs include Workforce Development and Family Development, Housing Services and the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). CEOGC operates Neighborhood Opportunity Centers in the Central, Glenville, Hough, Mt. Pleasant and Tremont neighborhoods to provide case management and access to all of its programs and other human and social services in the community. For additional information on CEOGC’s programs and services, visit www.ceogc.org.

 

RTA's mission is to enhance the quality of life in the region by providing outstanding, cost-effective public transportation services.

RTA's 2,740 employees operate 758 buses on 1,100 route miles, and 108 rail cars on 34 miles of track. Bus operators drive more than 90,000 route miles every day, and RTA carries more than 45 percent of all public transit riders in Ohio. RTA's bus and rail fleet is the 13^th largest in the nation, and RTA carries an average of 181,000 riders each weekday. More information on RTA is available online at www.rideRTA.com

 

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES ONLY:

Sandra Nicholls, CEOGC, 216-696-9077, ext.437, snichols@ceogc.org

Jerry Masek, RTA, 216-566-5211, jmasek@gcrta.org