As the Palo Alto College parking lot begins to fill up, the traffic through the Ray Ellison Family Center remains quiet. The children begin arriving at 6:50 a.m. and continue throughout the morning.

When the parents enter the center to drop off their children, Trina Jimenez, the Lead Interim Child Development Specialist, greets them. She is there to open the facility and make sure that things are coordinated for the day.

“I am the first point of contact for the students and their parents,” said Jimenez.

After arriving at the center, the students are escorted to their classrooms. On the door to one of the classes, there are photographs of all of the students. Other doors have pictures and decorations on them.

“The center is great. They treat the kids really well,” said Jose Elizondo, a Palo Alto community member, whose 4-year-old son, Jorge, attends the Ray Ellison Family Center. “He is learning a lot.”

The classrooms are colorfully decorated with crafts made by the students. Construction paper leaves hang from the ceiling to bring the fall season into the classroom. Along the walls are life-size silhouettes of the students with their names on them joined hand in hand. The silhouettes are made of several different colors of paper and seem to represent the cultural diversity of the students.

“The center does try to be sensitive to the cultural beliefs of all of their students,” said Jimenez.

Instead of celebrating holidays that some students may not recognize, they celebrate more concrete things.

“Our core curriculum is made of hands-on learning things that are concrete,” said Jimenez.

In addition to educational studies like learning the alphabet, the students participate in activities such as exploring leaves and the insides of pumpkins.

“They study the color, texture and other physical characteristics of them,” said Jimenez.

Sheri Kumlin, a Child Development Specialist, said, “The teachers really enjoy being here, which makes it better for everyone, kids and families.”

The Ray Ellison Family Center is a full-day facility. The fee for the center is $98 a week, based on a Monday through Friday schedule.

There are also options to enroll your child on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, or a Tuesday and Thursday schedule. The fees for these options are $58.80 and $39.20, respectively. The options that the center offers to parents allow those attending Palo Alto College more flexibility when scheduling their classes. All enrollment fees include breakfast, a hot lunch and a snack for the child.

The facility can hold a capacity of 66 students, but currently only 51 students are enrolled. The center accepts children from 18 months up to five years.

The children are separated by age into four classrooms, and two teachers are assigned to each room.

At least one of the teachers in each classroom holds an Associate’s Degree in Child Development or related studies. The teachers who do not hold an Associate’s Degree are required to have completed a one-year training program. After completing this program, the teachers receive a Child Development Associate Certificate.

Frank Guevara, the Program Coordinator, oversees all of the staff at the center.

“For me, it has been a welcome experience. It has been great to operate a campus-based program, because we are not only helping the children in terms of their development, we are enabling Palo Alto students to achieve their academic and professional goals,” said Guevara.

The Ray Ellison Family Center is licensed by the Texas Department of Professional and Regulatory Services, which means that they are inspected by the state at least once a year.

The staff at the facility along with a member of housekeeping cleans and disinfects the toys and equipment every day. The children are also included in keeping the center as germ-free as possible. The children are taught to maintain good hygiene, like encouraging them to wash their hands after each trip to the restroom.

The Ray Ellison Family Center encourages family involvement through a community dinner and family picnics.

The center asks parents to pick up their children every day by 5:30 p.m. After a day filled with playtime and learning activities, the children are excited to see their parents. The teachers say their goodbyes to the children and prepare for the start of another full day at the Ray Ellison Family Center.