Camarillo, California (Nov. 3, 2022) — CSU Channel Islands has chosen a site for construction of an early childhood center designed to address the dire need for quality, affordable and accessible care for children of CSUCI students, 40% of whom earn less than $24,000 a year, farm workers’ children in the region, and other community members, as well as for the children of University employees.

The campus recently received a $5 million grant to support this project. This grant, awarded by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, brings CSUCI to nearly the halfway mark in funding for the construction of an Early Childhood Care and Education Center (ECCEC). So far, CSUCI has $22.83 million for the center, which the University plans to build with a combination of public and private funding. The total estimated planning, infrastructure, and construction costs are $46.69 million.

An early childhood center has been planned for CSUCI since before it opened its doors 20 years ago. Of the 23 CSU campuses, CSUCI is one of only three without childcare facilities for students. After gathering input on construction site options from the campus community, President Richard Yao decided to renovate existing buildings along the west side of Camarillo Street south of Santa Barbara Avenue to house the center.

“We are grateful for investments from the County and State, which include $5 million from the County of Ventura, and two allocations totaling $7 million from the State legislature through the support of Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin. These, coupled with the University’s $10 million commitment which includes a $1.5 million donation from Kennedy Wilson, have helped get us this far,” said CSUCI President Richard Yao, Ph.D. “With additional financial supports that we are actively seeking in both public and private realms, we can build this vitally needed center and increase the availability, affordability, and quality of childcare and preschool throughout our region to the benefit of students, families, and employers.”

As planned, the ECCEC will serve infants (6 weeks) through 5 years old, as well as possible evening care for children up to 8 years old. The center will follow a Balanced Dual Language Model to meet the needs of young dual language learners or DLLs (60% of children under 5 years old are identified as DLLs) and will be open to children of all abilities including those with special needs. CSUCI will also collaborate with community partners to provide varied professional opportunities for early childhood educators throughout Ventura County including family childcare providers.

The ECCEC will not only provide opportunities for interdisciplinary research, service learning, and community partnerships but will be a site for CSUCI’s Early Childhood Studies majors to conduct field work including student teaching. The ECCEC will also be a clinical practice experience site for the newly proposed PK-3 Early Childhood Specialist Instruction Credential, an initiative in California created to meet the demand for qualified and diverse workforce in early childhood. The interdisciplinary nature of the ECCEC will also offer valuable experiences for students and faculty in other programs (e.g., Nursing, Sociology, Psychology, Art, Chicana/o Studies).

Plans for the first phase include 10 classrooms, two outdoor play areas, a medical office, multipurpose room/art studio, commercial kitchen, and laundry room. A proposed second floor would house a family resource area as well as college classroom space and faculty offices.

To learn more, please visit CSUCI’s ECCEC webpage.