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Local leaders and Parks and Rec staff gather for the opening of Jennie Rogers Community Center. Alonzo McGuire, who worked 50 years in Parks and Recreation, cut the ribbon. Photo by Fiona Morgan

The concessions area at Jennie Rogers Community Center. Photo by Fiona Morgan

Tom Poland, a local childcare advocate (left), learns about one of the rooms in the new Early Learning Center. Photo by Fiona Morgan

One of the Early Learning Center rooms. Photo by Fiona Morgan

Danville Mayor James Atkins (right), explained that he taught Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman (left) when she went to Centre College. Atkins gave her a key to the city of Danville. Photo by Fiona Morgan

The Arts Commission’s meeting room for small boards, book clubs, discussion groups, and other small groups. Photo by Fiona Morgan

The Arts Commission’s meeting room for small boards, book clubs, discussion groups, and other small groups. Photo by Fiona Morgan

The Arts Commission’s room for art classes. Photo by Fiona Morgan

Attendees of the open house mingle in the hallway of the newly renovated Early Learning Center. Photo by Fiona Morgan

Cradle School has a room in the center, which is an early childhood parent education program. Photo by Fiona Morgan

Cradle School has a room in the center, which is an early childhood parent education program. Photo by Fiona Morgan

Local leaders and Parks and Rec staff gather for the opening of Jennie Rogers Community Center. Alonzo McGuire, who worked 50 years in Parks and Recreation, cut the ribbon. Photo by Fiona Morgan

The Parks and Rec game room has ping pong, foosball, board games, and more. Photo by Fiona Morgan

The Parks and Rec game room has ping pong, foosball, board games, and more. Photo by Fiona Morgan

The Jennie Rogers Center gym. Photo by Fiona Morgan

The “We Were Here” exhibit by the Danville Boyle County African American Historical Society is currently on display in the hallway at Jennie Rogers. Photo by Fiona Morgan

Opening Act Youth Theater is sharing a room with Teach Peace, which works to develop early childhood character in fun ways. Photo by Fiona Morgan

One of the Early Learning Center rooms has a nap area for young children. Photo by Fiona Morgan

One of the Early Learning Center rooms. Photo by Fiona Morgan

One of the Parks and Rec classrooms. Photo by Fiona Morgan

the outdoor playground part of Early Learning Center

The Jennie Rogers cafeteria

Fiona@amnews.com

The new Jennie Rogers Community Center held its grand opening on August 9, with hundreds of citizens and local leaders in attendance. It’s located at 410 E Main St. in Danville.

The center is run by the City of Danville and Danville Boyle County Parks and Recreation. It has a gym, cafeteria, concessions area, playground, game room, and many classrooms. It is also home to the Boyle County Early Learning Center and several other nonprofits.

The center is now open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The building used to be the Jennie Rogers Elementary School, until Danville Schools consolidated and surplused the building. The city of Danville bought the building, and it has gone through several years of planning and construction.

Danville Mayor James J.H. Atkins thanked city staff and many others for their hard work on the project during the ceremony August 9.

“We’re a bold city commission, and we’re bold because we talk about ways we can improve quality of life in Danville, but we go beyond talking about things, we’re actually getting them done,” Atkins said.

The Toliver Elementary School choir sang the National Anthem during the ceremony.

Parks and Recreation Director Tommy Barton thanked all the Parks and Rec staff and others who helped bring the project to life. He said that the center is service-oriented, not revenue-generated, as most classes and events put on at the center will be free.

While the center is free, all parents will have to sign a waiver for their kids to use the facilities.

There will be open gyms, mens basketball nights, pickleball nights, and more. People can rent the cafeteria and the gym, the game room will be open all the time, and there will be after school programs by Danville High and Middle school.

Parks and Recreation will be staffing the center, with someone at the front desk. However, the center is partnering with several local nonprofits who will be using some of the classrooms.

The Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County will have two classrooms; Cradle School, which operates out of Danville Schools, has one classroom; and Opening Act Youth Theater is sharing a room with Teach Peace, which works to develop early childhood character in fun ways.

Some of the classes offered by the other organizations may have fees. All classes offered at the center will be posted on the Parks and Recreation website, and people can sign up for them there.

Parks and Recreation also has three of their own classrooms to run their programs. There’s a traditional Parks and Rec room for dance, aerobics and Zumba, and other rooms for classes and programming.

They are looking for people who want to teach their skills at the center; for example, local interpreters are putting on an ASL class this fall.

The city is looking for sponsors to finish the rest of the building. They hope to have a computer lab in the future, to finish the dance room, get new bleachers, and more.

Parks and Recreation also created the Jennie Rogers task force to help develop more ideas for the space. Representatives include Tonia Darnell from Boyle Schools, Dakota Yates from Danville Schools, community citizens Ra’shea Ford, Melinda Weathers and Jenn Gander, and Barton is representing the city.

After the ceremony, attendees enjoyed an open house to see all of the center’s rooms. Below is a breakdown of all services offered at the center.

Early Learning Center

The Boyle County Early Learning Center is a daycare facility in the building run by Boyle County Schools. Enrollment has been open since June.

The Early Learning Center has an entire wing of the building with six classrooms, all for different age groups. It will serve children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.

Classrooms are designed to enhance the learning experience of young children. It has a fully fenced outdoor playground, an indoor gross motor room, a nap room, and play rooms with books and learning spaces.

Safety features include controlled access, surveillance cameras, and adherence to state childcare and school regulations.

The Early Learning Center has a one-time registration fee of $50. The tuition rate is $175 per week. Food is $15 per week, but parents have the option to send in their child’s meals instead.

Boyle County Schools Superintendent Mark Wade said during the ceremony that the district is excited to be partnering with Jennie Rogers to provide much-needed local childcare.

“It’s more than just a childcare center, it is a place where there’s going to be vibrant learning,” Wade said. “Early learning is essential. Between the ages of birth to about 5 to 8 years old, that’s when children learn behavior, language, health and resiliency.”

Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman also spoke about the importance of childhood learning at the ceremony.

“The number one indicator for how we forecast prison populations in Kentucky is third-grade literacy rates; the number one indicator of third-grade literacy rates is kindergarten readiness, and the number one indicator of kindergarten readiness is access to high quality early childhood education,” Coleman said.

Coleman, who grew up in Mercer County and attended Centre College in Danville, said that she and Gov. Andy Beshear continue to fight for funding for universal pre-k in the state budget every year.

“This isn’t about right or left, this isn’t about Republican or Democrat, this is about doing the right thing for people because we know it’s what’s best for them,” Coleman said. “We know the one thing that prohibits so many people, primarily women, from entering the workforce, is making sure that we have high quality early childhood education available in the community.”

Mayor Atkins, who taught Coleman when she went to Centre College, gave her a key to the city of Danville.

Arts Commission 

The Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County has two classrooms. One classroom is for arts classes, with tables and arts supplies. People can also use this room for other arts-related things, like putting together a portfolio. People can reserve the room by contacting Mimi Becker, Arts Commission director, at arts@historicdanvilleky.com.

The other room is a meeting room for small boards, book clubs, discussion groups, and other small groups. It has two tables with chairs, a casual seating area with couches, and board games. Becker said she got all the furniture from local resales.

People who want to use the space can contact Becker directly to see when it’s available. Starting out, there is no fee to use either room.

Cradle School

Cradle School is an early childhood parent education program, from birth through age 5, usually for kids who can’t get into preschool or Head Start because they’re either too young or don’t meet income qualifications.

It was founded by Heart of Kentucky United Way through Danville Schools. They do group connections once a month, frequent guest speakers, and individualized sessions. They have families use the room a few times a week to learn about childcare.

The program is a good way to identify if a child needs special care, such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, or extra learning; because typically those needs aren’t seen until kids enter preschool.

Opening Act and Teach Peace

Opening Act Youth Theater group and Teach Peace are sharing an open concept room. Opening Act offers theater classes for younger kids, and puts on shows locally.

Teach Peace is a nonprofit that seeks to build character through projects like art, poetry, performing arts, and other fun things. It teaches kids how to understand other people and understand themselves.

See more photos of each room in the online version of this story at amnews.com.

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