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Fun Time Early Childhood Academy

The White Hutchinson team has started schematic design for the full architectural design of Fun Time Early Childhood Academy, a new 25,000-square-foot early learning center in Naples, Florida. The center will be expanded to accommodate 147 children in a two-story structure.

The new center is a collaborative effort with the Shelter for Abused Women and Children and the Florida Institute of Education. Major project sponsors include the First Lady of Florida, Columba Bush; the School Board of Collier County; and the Martin Foundation, in addition to many private individuals.

These distinctive partnerships launch an early learning arts environment that is research-and-standards-based and practice-focused. The center will be a regional replication of the Wolf Trap Institute of Early Learning Through the Arts and will employ the United Arts Council of Collier County. The facility will serve as a professional development site for practitioners, a model center for early childhood education practice, an applied-practice research laboratory seeking best practices for literacy enriched early education and care. It will foster increased community and family engagement.

In addition to classrooms for 147 children, the center will have a children's performing arts center, an art studio, a children's library, a community and parent resource room, a training center for teachers, a model rooftop play garden, separate gardens for infants and toddlers, and a wellness center for children. The classrooms all have observation areas so that practitioners can be trained in best practices. White Hutchinson is honored to be part of Florida's plan to promote high quality best practices for early learning centers.

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