LAKELAND, Fla. — Florida Southern College dedicated its newest project, the Carol Jenkins Barnett Center for Early Childhood Learning and Health and the Lamar Louise Curry Education Center, on Friday afternoon.
- Curry Education Center will house School of Education
- Barnett Center will house community resources studio
- Students, faculty will move in by end of semester
"Ever since I came in as a freshman, I've been looking forward to the opening of this building because it's just so modern and so advanced in technology and it's something that is really going to benefit me in the future," said Allison Tracey, an Elementary Education major.
With the college’s preschool moving into the new building and expanding, it will provide more opportunities for students like Tracey to interact with children.
"I want to learn more about the warning signs that I can look out for in students such as different warning signs for dyslexia,” Tracey explained.
One of the highlights of the new facility is there will be a focus on studying how children's health impacts their learning.
"It’s a dynamic national model that combines health factors and learning together," said Dr. Tracey Tedder, Dean of Education. "It will create a unique interdisciplinary curriculum that will focus on preparing pre-service teachers and pre-licensure nurses with factors and indicators that inhibit learning so that they can be prepared.”
The new facility also houses a new community resources studio where parents can take their children for health screenings and attend parenting workshops.
Seminars related to health and learning will also be held there.
"Ultimately, we want to see does all this have an impact on Polk County?" explained Dr. Linda Comer, Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. "Do we have enhanced nutrition for children? Do we have better detection, earlier detection of issues perhaps hearing issues? Vision issues?”
“The potential impact of the Carol Jenkins Barnett Center for Early Childhood Learning and Health is limitless, and we are excited about the countless children and their families whose lives will be transformed within this facility,” said Florida Southern President Dr. Anne Kerr during the dedication ceremony.
Students and faculty plan to move in by the end of the semester.