GRACE CHILD CENTER - History

History and track record of the Grace Child Center (pre-Katrina)

 The Center, a Class A state licensed facility, has been a pioneer and model for delivery of affordable childcare in a low-income, multiethnic, multicultural setting, including care and a mainstream experience for children with special needs. The Center has been providing quality child care services to children aged 18 months to 12 years service since 1974. Specific services include a developmental pre-school, before and after-school programs, and a summer camp program. The Center currently provides daily (Monday-Friday), full-time (7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) developmental and child care services to 60 children. The Center’s program is designed to improve the emotional, social, language, cognitive, and physical development of the children. Typically, at least 90 per cent of the children who are enrolled in the program for the whole school year reach appropriate developmental goals. Their health and quality of life are enhanced further by daily access to nutritional meals (breakfast, lunch, snack) at the Center and by the Center’s immunization monitoring program. Notably, 100 per cent of the Center’s children are up-to-date on their immunizations. Immunizations counter the spread of childhood diseases to the benefit of the entire community and state, enhancing productivity and reducing demand on government health care and family-assistance programs. Furthermore, because quality childcare is available at a modest cost, particularly to low-income families, adult family members can remain employed, seek employment, and/or enroll in training programs, thereby enhancing the entire family’s health, stability, and quality of life, empowering them to make meaningful contributions to the community, and reducing the number of families requiring public assistance. In fact, 92 per cent of the Center’s children live in households where the head of the household is employed. Therefore, whereas the Center might rightly be described primarily as an educational organization, the benefits of its program extend to the areas of health and civic improvement. And in the realms of crayons and finger paints and construction paper, perhaps, it contributes to “the arts” as well.

Population and Geographic Area Served

In 2005, the Grace Child Center served children in Orleans (85.6%) and Jefferson (14.4%) Parishes. The target population for services at the Center is low-income, working families. In the immediate area surrounding the school (Mid-City), 32.1 per cent of the people lived in poverty, and in Orleans parish, 27.9 per cent of families lived in poverty. In the Mid-City area alone, approximately 40 per cent of children age 11 and younger lived in poverty.   Of the families served by the Center, 92 per cent earned less than $25,000 annually, compared with 56 per cent of the total Mid-City population. The immediate target area also is multi-ethnic, with a constituent population that is 64.3 per cent African-American, 10 per cent Hispanic, 23.2 per cent white non-Hispanic, 1.2 per cent Asian, and 1.3 per cent other. The demographic profile of students at the Center has always reflected the multi-ethnic culture of New Orleans. Among the children, 44.3 per cent are African-American, 42.3 per cent are Hispanic, and 13.4 per cent are white, non-Hispanic. The larger representation of Hispanics is attributed to the Center’s bilingual staff, which enables the Center to accommodate Spanish-speaking children. The Center was also among the first to accept and serve children with special needs.

Our former director...

Kathy Smith, the former Grace Child Center director, left the center in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and now works at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in New Orleans. She continues to support the work of the center and serves on the board. The information below formerly appeared on the Grace Church Staff webpage.

Kathy Smith, Director of the Grace Child Care Center E-Mail
Kathy Smith has been the director of the Grace Child Care Center since 1976. Under her leadership the Grace Child Care Center has maintained an excellent reputation in New Orleans as a high quality childcare facility for families with moderate and low income, and for at-risk children. The center usually has a its full compliment of 60 children. Very much a hands-on administrator, Kathy can be seen doing everything from sodding the playground, to reading stories to children, to actively pursuing a grant for a new program at the Center. Kathy, a long time resident of New Orleans, is the daughter of The Rev'd Dr. Prim and Charlene Smith. The late Fr. Smith was the much beloved long-time Episcopal Chaplain at Tulane University and to the Tulane Medical Center. Kathy continues her affiliation with the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Tulane, although she frequently participates in activities at Grace Church.