2/26/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Rheta DeVries, director, Regents' Center for Early Childhood Development, (319) 273-2101
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Ready to kick off its inaugural year in fall 2001, the Freeburg Early Childhood Program will host four town-hall meetings in Waterloo, to explain program benefits and offer applications to parents of potential students. The Freeburg program, operated by the Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa, will be housed in a new building on the Allen College campus.
"This program will provide high-quality early education," explained Rheta DeVries, director of the Regents Center. "And it also will serve as a training site for preparing future and practicing teachers." The program will serve 66 children, ages 3 through first grade, providing developmentally appropriate education in a model facility. It also will offer family development programs for the children and their families. DeVries said that earlier this year, the center received $600,000 in federal funds, to specifically target technology and professional development.
Eligible for the program are those children whose parents live or work within a half-mile radius of the program site. Tuition waivers are available for those who meet specified income guidelines.
The first town-hall meeting begins at 6 p.m., Thursday, March 8, at Lincoln Elementary. The next meeting is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20, at Roosevelt Elementary; and the third meeting takes place at 6 p.m., Sunday, March 25, in McBride Auditorium of Gerard Hall, on the Allen College campus. A fourth meeting will be in Gerard Hall, Monday, March 27, at 6 p.m.
"There is a definite need for improved early childhood care," said Rebecca Edmiaston, assistant professor and research fellow at the Regents' Center, who noted the Regents' Center conducted a community-wide study of child care facilities during spring 2000. "The study indicated quality is lacking in many places, including support of children's literacy development, encouraging cognitive and academic growth, and understanding how best to meet young children's needs. This program will be a model for everyone interested in improving early child care and education."
The center director will be Jennifer Hartman, now principal at Waterloo's Elk Run Elementary. The four lead teachers will be Christina Sales, Gwen Harmon, Sherice Hetrick-Ortman and Beth VanMeeteren.
The Freeburg program is a collaborative effort between the Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education, the UNI College of Education, Waterloo Community Schools, Allen College and Allen Health Systems, the McElroy Trust, private donations and corporate contributors.
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2/22/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Allison Stringer, assistant professor of Leisure, Youth and Human Services, (319) 273-6346
Vicki Grimes, Office of University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- "Social physique anxiety," the fear of how others will think of you based on your physical appearance, will be discussed at noon, Monday, March 5, as the next lecture in the University of Northern Iowa's continuing CROW (Current Research On Women) Forum Series.
Allison Stringer, UNI assistant professor of leisure, youth and human services, will speak in the Maucker Union Embassy Room. Her lecture, "Social Physique Anxiety and Gendered Constraints to Recreation Among UNI Personal Wellness Students," covers the results of a study Stringer conducted in her fall 2000 personal wellness classes. Male and female student participants in the study were surveyed to determine what motivated their recreational choices and their perceptions of different exercise activities.
Stringer said, "There are a lot of recreational activities that tend to be gendered male, such as weightlifting or boxing." Stringer believes our cultural concept of gender has helped create a common perception that activities like weightlifting are "male" because they focus on physical strength.
She also found many students experience "social physique anxiety" while exercising in public.
Stringer is in her third year at UNI. She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from the College of William and Mary, and a master's in recreation, park and leisure and a doctorate in education, both from the University of Minnesota.
The lecture is free and open to the public, and sponsored by UNI's Graduate Program in Women's Studies. The next CROW Forum will be at noon, Monday, April 2. Tom Capshew, UNI assistant professor of social work, will present "Taking the Law into Their Own Hands: Civil Remedies for Domestic Violence Victims," in the Maucker Union Embassy Room.
For more information, call Stringer at (319) 273-6346.
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