Cougar Care: A Sunny Place for Faculty Children

Had a bad day?
    Stressed out?
    Life dealt you a lousy hand?
    Stop by Cougar Care.
    You’ll feel better.  Immediately.  Guaranteed.
    Cougar Care is the state-licensed day care center for children of Collegiate’s faculty and staff.
    It’s located on the south end of Nunnally Hall on the Lower School side.
    Happiness abounds.  There’re smiles and hugs all around.
    The 30 or so little ones from 6 months to 5 years will love you even if you bombed that last test or lost the big game.
    “The kids don’t care if it’s raining or snowing or sleeting,” said Gina Fuller, who joined the program as a teacher 7 years ago and has directed it for 4. “They don’t know if it’s a Monday or Friday.  They’re happy as long as we’re here to play with them.”
    Cougar Care, which operates each school day from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., is in its eighth year. It began in a classroom at Derbyshire Baptist Church, then moved to the basement of the building on North Mooreland Road that once served as the headmaster’s home and now houses the business office. For two years, it operated from rooms in the West Gym that the physical plant now uses for offices before moving to its current quarters five years ago.
    “We have a great layout,” added Fuller. “It’s bright and cheery. Mom and Dad can visit whenever they want. The staff loves their job.”
    Ah, yes, the staff. They’re the men and women who create the nurturing, caring environment for their colleagues’ children. There’s Mia White, the associate director who’s been here 4 years.  There’re Sarah Cowles (4), Kim Turner (5), Uba Casasnovas (7), Farley Macdonald (8), and Kieran Scanlon (7).
    “The staff has been very consistent,” said Fuller, “and very dedicated. It’s unusual to have male day care teachers, but Farley and Kieran enjoy working with the older kids and with the itty bitty babies. Teaching small kids is what they want to do.”
    Cougar Care is not a pre-school per se, but it does follow a daily schedule. The babies, of course, pretty much set their own. Beginning at 9 a.m. each day, the older kids rotate through 30 minute “classes” such as art and fine motor and gross motor activities. When the weather permits, they play outside. They take walks, some on foot, some in strollers, and some in the 6-seat “Bye-Bye Buggy” that’s become a familiar sight around campus. They attend convocations, pep rallies, and Lower School plays. There’s also time factored in for lunch, snack, and, of course, nap time.
    “What I find most enjoyable about working in child care is fostering an environment in which children feel safe, comfortable, and free to explore the world,” said Macdonald, whose two sons are in the program. “Knowing that families feel this way validates what I do.”
    The concept for the program began when a group of faculty members began discussing the possibility of convenient, on-site child care.  They did their research and presented their ideas to the administration, which saw great value in the plan.
    Ann Velez was the first director, remained with the program until her death in June 2004, and was responsible for creating much of the atmosphere that exists today. There’s a garden just outside the door dedicated to her. Each year on March 22, her birthday, the children plant flowers in her memory.
    “She was a cool lady,” said Fuller. “She loved this place.  It was her baby.” — Weldon Bradshaw