Love and Laughter Will Be Back in the Building!
This is great news for Parrish! FORZA has leased the Parrish School House for a Child Development Center for approximately 170 three and four year children.
FORZA is an educational organization that assists private, traditional public, and charter schools. Its mission is to provide academic excellence for all students through experience and self-discovery in order to develop motivated, independently thinking individuals who demonstrate exemplary character, social confidence and service to the community.
FORZA currently operates three charter schools located in Parrish (Parrish Charter Academy), Bonita Springs (Oak Creek Charter School) and Naples (Gulf Coast Charter School). The Child Development Centers (CDC) are located at each of the three charter schools.
The CDC’s are not only focused on providing the best, enriching environment for children but also provide parents with a pre-school that understands working parents. Schools are open year round with hours from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, providing working parents a stress-free care option and peace of mind that each child will be in good hands.
Nearly $1,000,000.00 will be spent on renovations to the building which will start in March 2021. The integrity and appearance of the building will be maintained. There will be 9 total classrooms: 2 in the annex next door to the main building and 7 in the main building. The main auditorium will remain essentially the same and be utilized as a bring-your-lunch cafeteria for the children and community-use meeting room. Two fenced playgrounds will be built in the front of the building with synthetic turf and a covered area with picnic tables. The landscaping will also be improved as well as the lighting, ceilings, window coverings, heating and air conditioning systems and electrical system. The expected completion date is May 2021 with a soft opening in the summer and official opening in August 2021.
Safety is a priority of the Parrish Child Development Center. All safety/security measures will be taken including security cameras, a new alarm system, panic locks, magnetic door locks, an intercom system, key fobs for access and numerous other initiatives.
The CDC will have 18 full-time teachers, 2 staff members and 2 part-time employees. It will have 2 teachers per classroom for 20 children – a smaller teacher/student ratio than most other pre-schools. When at full capacity the Parrish Child Development Center will have 25 to 30 full time employees. This CDC is now hiring employees for Parrish. Full time employees are offered full benefits including vision, dental, a 401K and life insurance.
FORZA also has school buses that will be available for this new Parrish CDC location as well as the current Parrish Charter Academy and CDC on Erie Road. Parents who have multiple children can have 3 and 4 year olds dropped at the Parrish location and older siblings taken to the Erie Road location so that parents can drop off their children at one location.
Parrish Charter Academy now includes grades kindergarten through 4th grade. With each new year PCA will add a new grade so that parents have a school option for their children from ages 3 to 14.
The Child Development Center prepares children to be ready for school. Children who participate in high-quality early childhood education programs develop better language skills, score higher in school-readiness tests, and have better social skills and fewer behavioral problems once they enter school.
And by the way… if you wondered why the FORZA name: it means strength (in Italian) which is what the new Parrish Child Development Center and Parrish Charter Academy offer.
The Parrish Foundation welcomes the new Child Development Center to the community and appreciates the consideration of preserving Parrish history.
For more information, read the advertisements in this newspaper or go to the FORZA website at www.forzavpk.org. Applications for enrollment can also be located on the website..
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Rebecca Jordan
Secretary, The Parrish Foundation
Home: (941) 776-9019
Cell: (941) 266-0049
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