Two preschool girls, pictured above, stood on either side of a blue metal rain wheel and spun the wheel, which created a gentle rattle sound reminiscent of rain. The wheel is one of six pieces of musical playground equipment installed recently in a new sound garden nature space within Clark College’s Child and Family Studies preschool.

Pointing to a whale drum near the back fence, Paul Caggianese, a CFS teacher and program supervisor, explained that the drum had been the only musical equipment since it was installed about two decades ago.

“Adding to the whale drum has always been a dream,” said Caggianese, who stood in the preschool’s backyard watching a group of preschoolers play.

But a lack of funding deterred them.

Michele Volk, director of Child and Family Studies, added, “Every year I meet with the Clark College Foundation to look at our wish list—and they make our wishes and dreams happen.”

Last year, Volk spoke to the foundation about funding for additional outdoor musical equipment, and they worked to make that longtime dream a reality. Now the whale drum is part of a new sound garden, including these additions:

• A blue rain wheel that emits a rattling sound much like rain
• A xylophone with aluminum keys and two mallets so that children can create a variety of notes
• A set of four vibrant chime flowers, each with an attached mallet. Each flower emits four sustained notes to produce enchanting, sustained gong sounds ranging from alto to soprano.

Generous donors

“The sound garden was a project CFS had wanted to develop for years, but lacked the resources to make it happen,” explained Kathy Chennault, Director of Development, Corporate & Foundation Relations at Clark College Foundation. “The foundation’s

connection with the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation provided the impetus to seriously explore this opportunity.”

The Ella Fitzgerald Foundation provided $5,000 in seed money. Donors via the Clark College Foundation provided the required $5,000 match. With two generous gifts, the initiative moved from concept to reality.

“We felt this was an important project to support as music can have such a profound impact on a young child’s life,” said Randal Rosman, Vice President of Programs at the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation. “Music can help children develop physically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively as well as with language development. Music is a way to bring people together, share experiences, and learn about diverse cultures. We hope that this sound garden and the associated programming help to create a sense of community with the kids and adults who interact with it.”

Benefits of music education

As Volk and Caggianese watched a group of preschoolers enthusiastically making music with the new equipment, they spoke about the benefits of introducing music in early childhood education, including preschoolers playing in a sound garden.

Caggianese said, “The impacts that music has on your ability to do math, look at language and literacy, just all those influences. And then on top of it, (it’s) another method for children to decompress.”

Volk nodded, “The developmental part of it is a real key to impacting them for lifelong love, joy, and a sense of wonder in music.”

Caggianese added, “Music is a bridge between cultures and languages.”

“Music develops the whole child in ways that people don’t always think about,” Volk said.

All around them, busy preschoolers played in their new sound garden. The team at CFS hopes to add more percussion equipment to the sound garden next.

Clark College recently received a $496,800 grant to help low-income parents pursue higher education.

The grant, which will be disbursed over four years, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) program. The bulk of it will be used to subsidize child care in the college’s Child and Family Studies program for Pell Grant-eligible student-parents. About one-quarter of Clark students have dependent children, and 43 percent are low-income.

“We are thrilled to be able to take this step forward in serving our student-parents with the CCAMPIS Student Parent Support Program,” said Clark College Child & Family Studies Director Michele Volk. “We know that child care can be a barrier for many people who would like to go to college, so having safe, high-quality, and affordable early-childhood care and education right here on campus can help these students succeed and create brighter futures for their whole families.”

According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, only 33 percent of students with children complete a degree or certificate within six years; for single mothers, the rate is 28 percent. One study showed that student-parents who used their college’s on-campus child care services were more than three times as likely to graduate on time as those who did not. At a time when many colleges across the country are shutting down their child-care centers, this grant will allow Clark College to expand its services to more students.

Founded during World War II as a parents’ cooperative, Clark College’s Child & Family Studies program has evolved into a full-scale child care center providing care to children ages 12 months to 5 years. Serving more than 123 families per quarter, it also serves as a learning lab for the college’s Early Childhood Education program.

Student parents can receive CCAMPIS-funded subsidies through an application process and could begin receiving subsidized child care as soon as the beginning of winter quarter on January 7. CFS hopes to serve 40 student families during the first year of the grant.