Before you even meet a student at Detroit’s LACC Childcare Academy, you are greeted with smiles. Some of the students’ smiling faces are printed on bright green rugs that line the hallways and give a glimpse of the kind of joy you will encounter when you step over the threshold into the classrooms.
If you happen to arrive during nap time, you’ll experience a bit of tranquil silence … and then peals of cheerful laughter as afternoon snacks are passed out. The teachers seem happy, too. They’ve got spacious classrooms filled to the brim with toys and learning materials for their students. They’ve got their own breakroom for meals and meetups.
LACC offers 24-hour childcare and there is always a nurse on call. The center partners with programs including Matrix Human Services, Great Start to Quality and Institute of Supportive Services to ensure that their students and parents receive the care and attention they need. They work with local companies including Detroit Manufacturing Systems, Chrysler, and a host of hospitals to care for their employees’ children. The 13,000-square-foot facility has year-round enrollment and currently houses 149 students and 28 teachers.
And now it boasts exactly the kind of uplifting environment Laurie Clark-Horton envisioned in 2020 when she applied for an IFF Learning Spaces grant. She had already been operating her childcare business for 19 years and her LACC Childcare Academy on Wyoming on the city’s west side needed some structural attention. Read more to learn how the IFF Learning Spaces grant helped.