Pictured, from left to right, are: Jessica Storey, YMCA Preschool director; Mayor Tim Kelly; Janet Dunn, president & CEO for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga; Pat Neuhoff, board chair for the YMCA; Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod; Former Councilman Erskine Oglesby; and Bill Rush, executive director.
Today, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga celebrated the grand opening of a new preschool – The YMCA Language Immersion Early Learning Center, 801 S. Willow St. in Chattanooga.
The new center, which is the third area preschool to open for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga, will provide a fully immersive learning environment with half days designated to Spanish and the other half to English. Instruction at the site will focus on vocabulary, extensive reading and use of language in context.
The opening of the new center comes in response to research showing cognitive development increases significantly when a second language is introduced to early learners, as well as in response to Chatt 2.0.
“Fostering the potential of our youth is at the heart of what we do,” said Janet Dunn, president & CEO for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga. “And in this community, we have a great group of people who continue to show up when the YMCA has a dream or a need,” said Ms. Dunn.
The YMCA thanks the following supporters who helped make the center a reality: Scenic City Venture Fund, Lyndhurst Foundation, Maclellan Foundation, Truist, Community Foundation, Benwood Foundation, City of Chattanooga, Footprint Foundation, and the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.
The YMCA Preschool Program is Christian-based, and includes healthy meals, challenging and fun learning experiences, daily physical activities, open door policy for parents, scholarships and daily schedules with free play.
More information on the new learning center can be found at
https://www.ymcachattanooga.org/programs/education-development/ymca-language-immersion-early-learning-center.