Established in 1971, The Week of the Young Child™ (WOYC), April 10-16, is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. It was created to focus public attention on the importance of early childhood education. The Early Childhood years from birth to age eight lay the foundation for a child’s later success in their academic or social life.

At the Barber National Institute, we have long been invested in early childhood education. In fact, we first began our preschool programs for children with special needs in 1952.

What do we have available in 2021?

Our Pre-K Counts program based in Erie and Corry is part of a statewide initiative to provide a high-quality full-time preschool experience free of charge for children of qualifying families. Pre-K Counts is designed to assist children who may be considered “at risk” because of the family’s economic, language, cultural or other circumstances which may prevent the child from developing the skills necessary to enter kindergarten ready to learn.

Happy Hearts Early Childhood Program, a fully inclusive preschool, provides a state-of-the-art educational experience where all preschool children have the opportunity to learn and grow. We began this program in the early 1980s, to allow neighborhood children and children of our staff to attend preschool. Today, we serve typical children as well as children with developmental delays. Happy Hearts is a four-out-of-four Keystone Stars Certified program and aligns with a progressive, innovative curriculum that encourages the development of creativity, self-direction, positive peer interactions and communication. Our history of providing individualized education allows us to guide each child toward his or her potential.

Specialized Early Intervention program serves preschool-age children who require a more structured classroom environment and a higher staff to student ratio.

We also are an Approved Private School and serve children with autism, intellectual and physical disabilities, and behavioral challenges who need intensive educational programming and therapies.

Our involvement with young children doesn’t end there. By partnering with organizations such as the PNC Grow Up Great program, we help to promote and encourage all children to reach their fullest potential, while sharing the resources to help make it possible.

Check out our Facebook page to see some of the WOYC fun activities. We even went on a Safari!