Albright Learning Center Under New Management
Albright College selected Hildebrandt Learning
Centers, LLC, an award-winning operator of 34
early learning centers across Pennsylvania, to
manage the Albright Learning Center, the College’s
early childhood development center. The center’s
name has also been changed to the Albright Early
Learning Center (AELC).
The Albright Learning Center has been an
important part of Albright College since 1974.
Under Hildebrandt’s management, the center will
continue to offer high quality part-time and fulltime
programs, and serve as a hands-on laboratory
school, providing valuable experience to
Albright College education students. The center
also features a new infant care program for babies
six weeks and older.
Hildebrandt Learning Centers is a leader in
developing and operating employer-related child
care centers in Pennsylvania and the nation. The
company was established in 1991 with its first
center at Lancaster Laboratories, a company regularly
featured as a Working Mother top 100 companies
for working women. The company is also a
pioneer in the “intergenerational concept” of caring
for both young and elderly in the same setting.
Like the AELC, 24 of Hildebrandt’s centers have
achieved National Association for the Education
of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation. In addition,
21 Hildebrandt centers have been designated
as Keystone Four Star centers by the Pennsylvania
Department of Public Welfare, their highest
distinction. Hildebrandt was the 2007 recipient of
the CreativeCurriculum.net Star Program Award
presented by the NAEYC.
Albright Provost Andrea Chapdelaine, Ph.D.,
said the College selected Hildebrandt because
of their high standards, their commitment to
outstanding early care and because their educational
mission is similar to Albright’s. “This partnership
is a wonderful way to ensure that the center
will continue to thrive,” Chapdelaine said.
Hildebrandt CEO, William J. Grant, said the partnership
is an exciting opportunity for children, families,
staff and the entire Albright College community.“Recent meetings with the Education Department at
Albright College indicate renewed collaboration as
the state of Pennsylvania changes early childhood
certification requirements for teachers.” |
Albright Students Embark on a Three-Week, Life-Changing Experience in the Dominican Republic
Top: Thirteen students embarked on a trip to the Dominican Republic during
Interim in January; Above: A typical Dominican schoolhouse. photos courtesy Kelly Cross '08
No water, no electricity, flying cockroaches and
mosquitoes. This combination does not hint at a
happy experience. However, students who traveled
during Interim to the small town of Samaná
in the Dominican Republic came back ecstatic.
In fact, Andrea Pfaff ’08, a Spanish and English
major said, “It’s the most rewarding, beneficial,
unforgettable experience of a lifetime.” Her
classmates, Sheritta Wilkerson ‘08 and Kelly
Cross ’08, wholeheartedly agreed.
The students took the trip as part of an Interim
class offered every other year by professors
Kathy Ozment and Patricia Snyder ’70. The class,“Samaná: An Oral and Ethnographic Study of
Community - Service and Experiential Learning
in the Dominican Republic,” provides students
with a firsthand opportunity to study a Spanish speaking
nation.
To further their cultural immersion, the
students stayed with Dominican families. “The
end goal of this trip was to learn about the
culture of the Dominican Republic through classroom
and personal experience,” said Wilkerson.
The class included a morning and evening seminar, out-of-class fictional and non-fictional
readings, and a survey-based project that from
start to finish was controlled by the students.
Wilkerson and Pfaff focused on gender, racism,
skin color, and physical beauty ideals expressed
through research and interviews.
The students also embarked on excursions
to Los Haitises National Park, a horseback
ride to El Limón waterfall, and even a voodoo
botanica. Cross’ favorite memory was visiting a
schoolhouse where the American students were
viewed as “the opportunity.” She said, “This
was the most humbling experience of my life.”
Americans go without want, while these children
live without water, electricity and genuine
educational opportunities.
In this course, learning through experience
is equally as important as the academic content.
Ozment said she believes that making connections
to a culture and society so different from
the students’ allows them to become more aware
of their positions within the global community. “They [the students] create, imagine, think and
thrive in an entirely new environment.” |
