Children's campus set to open in August

By Jane Lee     3/27/08 7:00pm

Construction around campus is not limited to the benefit of just college students anymore: some new buildings will now attract students under the age of five. Next August, Rice will open a Montessori school, Rice Children's Campus, for the children of faculty and staff members. The school will be located at 5504 Chaucer Dr., between University and Rice Blvd. RCC will enroll 84-86 children from six weeks old through five years old. The acceptance period for applications for enrollment this fall began Mar. 17. Projected monthly tuitions range from $950-$1,100, depending on the age of the student.

Houston childcare firm Metropolitan Montessori Schools, which currently operates the downtown Cathedral House School, will also operate RCC. MMS emphasizes the Montessori teaching techniques of cultivating student skills through an emphasis on engaging physical environment and self-directed activity.

Associate Vice President for Human Resources Mary Cronin said RCC could help recruit Rice faculty by offering a childcare opportunity close to campus.

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"Providing this service is very important to our ability to recruit the very best faculty, an issue that has been raised by faculty who have many competing offers and who want to make sure their work life is in order, and that quality childcare opportunities are available for their children," Cronin said.

Although there are many childcare organizations in Houston, Cronin said most Houston childcare centers cater to older children, which leave faculty at a loss in the search for infant care.

Cronin said Rice's faculty and trustees have considered starting a childcare center for over 20 years. Cronin said construction on the school began last semester after a faculty group proposed the infant care center to President David Leebron. This panel of Rice staff, which is led by Faculty Fellow Philip Kortum, currently advises and aids the RCC in preparation for its opening in the fall. Rice's Board of Trustees authorized the purchase of the land for the school, and Rice owns both the property and the building of the children's campus. The building is certified by the Green Building Council's LEED program in accordance with Rice's commitment to sustainability.

The RCC may collaborate with programs at Rice. According to Leebron's opening statement of the RCC, the school will work with Rice's School Literacy and Culture Project in order to emphasize early literacy. The children's campus group is also open to any interesting ideas about the involvement of Rice undergraduates in the center, Cronin said. She said the Rice community has high hopes for the benefits arising from the new school.

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