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The Child Care Center of Evanston, established during World War II to care primarily for the children of veterans whose wives were working fulltime outside of the home, has become the Learning Bridge Early Education Center.

Its members and supporters were advised of the change at the organization’s annual meeting Thursday night by Board President Elizabeth Holding and Executive Director Lindsay Percival.

The center provides full-day services for children ages six weeks to five years of age. The infants are served by the organization’s Family Child Care Connections, a network of licensed home day care providers, while the center’s headquarters at 1840 Asbury Ave. has five preschool classrooms caring for children ages 2 through 5.

An active participant in Evanston’s Cradle to Career network, Percival noted that success in school, and ultimately in life, is determined largely by the quality of education and stimulation received by the child in the earliest of years.

In fact, organizations like Learning Bridge are a critical component in the community’s effort to cure the persistent academic gap that separates low-income minority children from their moderate and upper-income peers in the white community as measured by standardized tests.

Of the 180 children served by the center, about 80 percent of them are on special government assistance programs serving the low-income segment of the population, according to Holding.

The name change, Percival explained, was a result of a rebranding exercise performed over several months by members of the center’s Board of Directors to reflect the fact that “we are not just child care anymore.”

One of the highlights of the annual meeting was a presentation of an Award of Excellence bestowed upon the center by the Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development for outstanding pre-school teaching and learning.

A resident of Evanston since 1975, Chuck Bartling holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and has extensive experience as a reporter and editor for daily newspapers, radio...

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11 Comments

  1. Insensitive Logo

    Seeing the childcare center had its roots in WWII how come nobody realized that this new logo resembles the Japanese Rising Sun flag? It’s tantamount to using a Swastika. 

    1. logo…made in Japan…oops!

      That’s because people today don’t research, or proofread, or check even for copyrights……the Japanese flag was the first thing I noticed when I saw this article….yikes!

      1. A simple color switch for the logo before real damage is done?

        How about a nice shade of blue or green instead of the red?  Or a vibrant yellow more in keeping with sun logos?

        By using the red and white, it does appear to look a lot like the Japanese flag used in World War II.  I am certain that it was not intentional to have that similarity when you changed the logo of an organization founded to help care for the children of World War II veterans. 

        It would, however, be best if those in leadership addressed it very promptly.  You know, before you wind up on some late night show that pokes fun at such things–prominently mentioning your organization and Evanston and World War II then showing a picture of the logo and the old Japanese flag side by side.  Ouch.

         

  2. Congratulations!

    A wonderful, forward-looking name and logo to match your outstanding program. So proud to have this service for the young families and children in the region. Congratulations! 

  3. Wonderful organization

    The Learning Bridge has been helping Evanston children for 70 years. It’s great to see how vital it has remained. Great work thank you. 

  4. Congratulations!

    I’ve been in the Evanston community for many years and have always been impressed by the work done at what’s now the Learning Bridge. Good for them for doing the one thing that must be done to survive and prosper in a changing world: Evolve. 

    I’m impressed by what they’re doing! Congratulations to the Learning Bridge on your long tradition of service to Evanston families.

  5. Congratulations Learning Bridge!

    Every time I pass by the corner of Emerson and Asbury I hear the sounds of children playing and learning at The Learning Bridge! You are a wonderful contribution to the Evanston community. Congratulations on your new name, and thank you for all your work keeping our kids strong!

  6. Congratulations and Thank You!

    Congratulations and thank you, Learning Bridge for all you do for the Evanston community and families! 

  7. Learning Bridge Early Education Center

    A fantastic forward looking Evanston treasure. I like this name change and the expanded vision behind it.

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