Hundreds of highly trained students. Hope for parents seeking resources. New research-based tools to get struggling preschoolers ready to read. As the Schoenbaum Family Center at Weinland Park enters year three, these stellar results benefit people, the City of Columbus, and beyond.

Corporate and private sponsors such as JPMorgan Chase, the P&G Fund, The Columbus Foundation, Betty Schoenbaum, and Linda and Frank Kass point with pride to their partnership with the College of Education and Human Ecology. Together and with community leaders, they created the nation’s first early childhood research laboratory in a neighborhood challenged by rundown housing, unemployment, and crime.

1,400 students trained

Students from many majors train at the Schoenbaum Center. They observe behavior, practice teaching, conduct dental assessments, screen vision, and more.

“Because we serve a diverse clientele from both Weinland Park and across Columbus, university students learn innovative strategies for working with a strong socioeconomic and cultural mix of children and families,” said Michele Sanderson, director of the early childhood program. “Students develop a flexible style that responds to what each child brings to the school experience.” Employers value this ability to work with diversity.

124 children gain top-quality educational experience

The most touching evidence of impact comes from the families.

Kaci Harris, a 24-year-old mother of four, has two children at the Schoenbaum Center and one who completed the program and now attends elementary school. Raised in the Weinland Park neighborhood, Harris credits the center with providing an overwhelming sense of relief and tremendous hope for the future for children and families like hers.

“Education is the only way for my children to succeed,” Harris said. “The center offers the help people truly need.” All families at the center can consult a family advocate about resources for work, education, and family needs.

Research shapes solutions for struggling learners

Howard Goldstein, the center’s research director, leads a critical segment of a multi-university project to improve early reading success. Its unusual feature: no teacher is needed. The child navigates a customized picture book with accompanying CD.

“After three sessions with our first intervention book, a preschooler who scored poorly on measures for kindergarten literacy skills learned the concepts and passed the test,” said Sean Noe, a PhD student working with Goldstein. “After three sessions with the second book, he scored well above the test requirements.”

Twenty undergraduate students volunteered with the project last year. They learned valuable career skills while broadening their knowledge of early learning.

Goldstein summed up the development research agenda at the Schoenbaum Center: “We are focused on developing approaches for ensuring children from challenged neighborhoods maximize their potential,” he said. “Our state-of-the-art center is attracting the resources to achieve this goal.”

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“We are focused on developing approaches for ensuring children from challenged neighborhoods maximize their potential.”