New early childhood development center to open at Bennett College

The new early childhood education center on the campus of Bennett College is a partnership between the school and the nonprofit Guilford Child Development.

Discussions for the new center began around the beginning of the pandemic. Guilford Child Development Chief Executive Officer Maria Layne-Stevens says the site will serve 43 children ages two to four through the Early Head Start, Head Start, and NC Pre-K programs. They'll work primarily with low-income families.

Layne-Stevens says there will also be collaborations with Bennett College students.

“There will be many opportunities for the students and their instructors to engage together with us and with our children and families where they can actually practice the skills they're learning,” she says.

The nonprofit offers many additional services to support the wellbeing of the families they work with which will all be available through the new center. GCD says they are one to two weeks from opening.