University of Chicago Laboratory Schools administrators invite the community to a third public meeting for an update on the proposed Early Childhood Center. Representatives of the project team will preview the design and recap feedback from previous sessions.
The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9 in the Laboratory Schools’ Large Meeting Room, 126 Judd Hall. Entry is through the double doors on South Kimbark Avenue, just north of East 59th Street.
As part of the Laboratory Schools’ proposed expansion, administrators have identified the need for an Early Childhood Center that would accommodate children from nursery school through second grade. Those children are currently spread among several buildings. The center is one component of a plan that would accommodate increased enrollment from the current 1,780 to 2,050 students from nursery school through 12th grade.
At the same time, the proposed new building allows the school to tailor its facilities to its nationally recognized educational program. The current plan calls for a free–standing Early Childhood Center on University–owned land at 5800 S. Stony Island Ave. The architecture firms FGM Architects, Inc. and Valerio Dewalt Train Associates, Inc. are designing the center, which will incorporate lab spaces, and studios for the arts, music and dance within or adjacent to the classrooms.
In early discussions of the Early Childhood Center proposal, the Laboratory Schools and 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston hosted two previous public meetings in February and April. Laboratory Schools officials will present plans to the Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday, Sept. 16, as part of the request for an amendment to the Planned Development document for the site to allow an educational use.
—Wendy Parks
