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United Campus Ministry papers, 1970-1972
1971-03-01 Robert S. Baron to Dr. Marlee Scaff
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(copy of original letter) Department of Psychology The University of Iowa Iowa City, iowa 52240 March 1, 1971 Dr. Marilee Scaff 421 Lee Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear. Dr. Scaff: Bobby Acre recently mentioned that you might be interested in receiving an evaluation of Melrose Day Care Center from the parents of some of the children enrolled there. Since I feel that Melrose is performing an essential and difficult task in a superior and intelligent fashion, I felt obligated to write and give you my opinion. We have had our girl enrolled at Melrose since September of 1970. From her perspective (and obviously from ours) Melrose is richly rewarding and stimulating part of her day. She clearly enjoys her time there and, in fact, recently asked to stop attending another series of preschool classes since Melrose was "FUNNER". From everything I can gather, the Melrose staff is sensitive, responsible and insightful in their handling of children. I have repeatedly witnessed individual staff members handle potential "problem situations" in a mature and effective fashion. The school program also appears to stimulate the children in an educational sense by providing a number of alternative activities (i.e., structure) that they can become involved in. But probably the one thing that sets Melrose apart from the Preschool Businesses that constitute its competition is the overall atmosphere of the place. Melrose has a sort of family atmosphere to it. Whether this is due to the physical facility (a plus in my mind despite its somewhat unorthodox appearance), the fact that the number of enrolled children is small enough so that each can be reacted to individually, or to the staff is hard to tell but it is there and readily apparent. The fact that Melrose is a good place for kids is particularly important given the pressing need in the University community for such services. The recent agitation around the University for establishing adequate daycare facilities clearly reflects this need. Students clearly are in urgent need of daycare facilities for their children which are conveniently located near campus and within their financial means. But Melrose in necessary not just (or mainly) because it meets the two requirements mentioned directly above. Parents, of course, have one additional requirement that takes precedence over all others--they must have confidence that any daycare program they choose will benefit (or at least not abuse) their children. It's my feeling that Melrose is the only daycare program (operating all day) that meets this last need. In short, it's not just the best-- it's the only full-day program currently offered in Iowa City that is acceptable. Our own situation illustrates this point. We are not indigent, nor are we hung up on location. Last June, we examined the other full-day programs offered locally and were beginning to despair. We would not have sent our child to any of those programs, and yet it was essential to find one. We saw Melrose last and immediately felt better. As this letter attests, our initial impression was strongly confirmed. Sincerely, Robert S. Baron Assistant Professor RSB: bg
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(copy of original letter) Department of Psychology The University of Iowa Iowa City, iowa 52240 March 1, 1971 Dr. Marilee Scaff 421 Lee Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear. Dr. Scaff: Bobby Acre recently mentioned that you might be interested in receiving an evaluation of Melrose Day Care Center from the parents of some of the children enrolled there. Since I feel that Melrose is performing an essential and difficult task in a superior and intelligent fashion, I felt obligated to write and give you my opinion. We have had our girl enrolled at Melrose since September of 1970. From her perspective (and obviously from ours) Melrose is richly rewarding and stimulating part of her day. She clearly enjoys her time there and, in fact, recently asked to stop attending another series of preschool classes since Melrose was "FUNNER". From everything I can gather, the Melrose staff is sensitive, responsible and insightful in their handling of children. I have repeatedly witnessed individual staff members handle potential "problem situations" in a mature and effective fashion. The school program also appears to stimulate the children in an educational sense by providing a number of alternative activities (i.e., structure) that they can become involved in. But probably the one thing that sets Melrose apart from the Preschool Businesses that constitute its competition is the overall atmosphere of the place. Melrose has a sort of family atmosphere to it. Whether this is due to the physical facility (a plus in my mind despite its somewhat unorthodox appearance), the fact that the number of enrolled children is small enough so that each can be reacted to individually, or to the staff is hard to tell but it is there and readily apparent. The fact that Melrose is a good place for kids is particularly important given the pressing need in the University community for such services. The recent agitation around the University for establishing adequate daycare facilities clearly reflects this need. Students clearly are in urgent need of daycare facilities for their children which are conveniently located near campus and within their financial means. But Melrose in necessary not just (or mainly) because it meets the two requirements mentioned directly above. Parents, of course, have one additional requirement that takes precedence over all others--they must have confidence that any daycare program they choose will benefit (or at least not abuse) their children. It's my feeling that Melrose is the only daycare program (operating all day) that meets this last need. In short, it's not just the best-- it's the only full-day program currently offered in Iowa City that is acceptable. Our own situation illustrates this point. We are not indigent, nor are we hung up on location. Last June, we examined the other full-day programs offered locally and were beginning to despair. We would not have sent our child to any of those programs, and yet it was essential to find one. We saw Melrose last and immediately felt better. As this letter attests, our initial impression was strongly confirmed. Sincerely, Robert S. Baron Assistant Professor RSB: bg
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