The Mission and Legacy of Compass Early Learning Center
The skills developed at Compass Early Learning Center are for more than just kindergarten preparedness. Children who attend Compass are prepared for the next stages in their academic journey and beyond. As Brittney Denton, Program Director, explained, "[w]e are building the foundation for their educational future".
At Compass, children develop essential school readiness skills by interacting with peers, learning to express themselves, engaging in parallel play, and cooperating with others. The program activities build motor skills and develop early math and literacy abilities, creating a strong foundation for academic success in grade school and beyond.
This focus on early education as a building block for lifelong success is not new to Monroe County United Ministries. A 1944 newspaper article from The World Telephone, published just four years after our founding as the Christian Center, highlighted our mission as "a community effort [...] in the 'guidance of the next generation.'" At the time, our nursery school provided "training, food, rest, medical service, and recreation to twenty-five pre-school children," establishing the foundation for what continues today as the Compass Early Learning Center.
Since our founding as the Bloomington Day Nursery in 1940, our organization has evolved to meet the changing needs of our community. Today, Compass serves 94 children ages one to five, emphasizing skills to foster long-term success and fulfillment. As we enter the new year and transition from Monroe County Ministries to Pathways, we are excited to refocus our efforts on early childhood education, concentrating our services exclusively on young children and their families through school readiness and long-term economic mobility.
Click on the button below to learn more about our transition to Pathways:
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