Skagit Valley College breaks ground on early learning center
Jun. 17—MOUNT VERNON — Skagit Valley College broke ground Wednesday on a new early learning and child care center that has been seven years in the making.
The Sue Krienen Early Learning and Childcare Center, which is set to open in 2022, will offer not only a space for the children of Skagit Valley College students, but a place for the college's early education students to learn.
"I think the center will stand as a shining example of a community coming together to support children, families, the college, and ensuring a healthy community for all," Skagit Valley College President Tom Keegan said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Located across LaVenture Road from the college, the new building will include two classrooms and have the ability to serve about 30 children in the Head Start program and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP).
The goal is to add at least another classroom, said the center's namesake Sue Krienen, a former Shell Oil Company executive who has a passion for early learning.
"This center is a dream of mine come true," Krienen said. "Early education is critical. We want our children to be happy and healthy and to reach their full potential."
Krienen was not only the center's first donor — donating $275,000 — but also instrumental in getting other donors, Keegan said.
The college also received an $800,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce and its foundation has raised more than $3 million in donations, including a $1.5 million grant from the national Head Start office.
"I might have been the spark that started it, but it took all of us to make it a reality," Krienen said.
With her grandsons Quinn Norris, 3, and Holden Norris, 1, in tow, Krienen said the commitment of community members to build a center, regardless of whether they have children that will benefit, says a great deal about them.
"The key is it's about us caring for all of our children," she said. "The community is coming together to support all of our children."
Although the center has faced setbacks along the way, Keegan said it fits in well with the college's mission of equity and reducing barriers to higher education.
"If you think about barriers to higher education ... convenient, safe, high quality child care is at the top of the list for many," he said.
About 50% of the college's students have children, although not all of the children are of an age to benefit from early learning programs, Keegan said.
— Reporter Kera Wanielista: 360-416-2141, kwanielista@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @Kera_SVH, facebook.com/KeraReports
