Fort Worth leaders praise new Early Learning Center at UNTHSC

By Alex Branch

Lena Web
 
Community leaders are hailing the opening of the Miles Foundation Early Learning Center, a partnership between UNT Health Science Center and Lena Pope, as a major step for high-quality, early childhood development in Fort Worth.

Mayor Betsy Price, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, State Sen. Konni Burton and Fort Worth City Councilman Brian Byrd were among the dignitaries who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the UNTHSC campus.

The Early Learning Center is a year-round, full-day center for more than 80 children ages six weeks to 5 years old. Half of the spots are available to low-income families at an affordable rate.

Mayor Price said the public-private partnership between UNTHSC and Lena Pope was typical of the way leaders in Fort Worth work together to remedy big problems, such as a lack of affordable, high-quality early learning for children of all economic backgrounds.

“The link between our workforce and early childhood learning is critical if we are to succeed as a community,” Mayor Price said. “Child care centers like this will shape our future.”

Opening an early learning center on campus was among the chief goals of the UNTHSC Best Place for All initiative, designed togrow a sustainable people culture by creating programs, policies and a work environment that increase team member satisfaction and engagement.

UNTHSC employees raised more than $30,000 to help fund the center through an internal giving campaign.

“It’s all about people,” said Michael R. Williams, DO, MD, UNTHSC President. “Our campus team made the Early Learning Center it’s number one priority.”

Studies show that early education helps children avoid special education interventions, lessens grade repetition and results in higher test scores. For each dollar invested in high-quality, early childhood programs, a state economy will earn a $2 to $3 return on investment, measured by increased jobs or earnings for state residents.

Todd Landry, EdD, Lena Pope CEO, noted during the ceremony that children’s laughter could be heard coming from the Early Learning Center playground.

“That’s exactly why we are here,” he said.

Recent News

Tarri Wyre
  • On Campus
|Sep 26, 2023

SaferCare Texas empowers Community Health Workers to complete HSC Mental Wellness microcredential

Tarri Wyre saw the growing need to expand her mental health education. The community health worker and ambulatory care manager for Memorial Hermann Health in Houston turned to the Mental Wellness microcredential, offered by The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth’s SaferC...
Dr. Teresa Wagner
  • On Campus
|Sep 25, 2023

Two HSC programs to host maternal health conference centered on fourth trimester

In the U.S., more than 20% of maternal deaths during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth are because of drug use, suicide or homicide, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. In the absence of access to mental...
Jessica Rangel
  • Our People
|Sep 25, 2023

This is Whole Health: Jessica Rangel

“Many years ago, I did a home visit on an older adult whom I had cared for numerous times in the emergency department. What I knew was that she suffered from a complicated medical situation and was not receiving optimal care with periodic emergency department visits. She always came by ambulance, ...
Ashenafi 768x768
  • Our People
|Sep 20, 2023

Dr. Ashenafi Cherkos awarded prestigious AIM-AHEAD Fellowship in Leadership

Dr. Ashenafi Cherkos, assistant professor at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, has been awarded the prestigious AIM-AHEAD Fellowship in Leadership for the Fall 2023 cohort. Cherkos serves in the School of Public Health’s Department of Population and Community Healt...