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Early Childhood Profile

School Mission

Our mission is simple: To enhance the development of very young children and promote healthy family functioning.

To this day I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live,
grow up and do what we can to make this world
a better place for all people to enjoy freedom." -- Rosa Parks

The Magic School: Where Wonder Leads the Way

Step inside Union Public Schools’ Rosa Parks Early Childhood Education Center and experience “The Magic School: Where Wonder Leads the Way,” a feature-length documentary exploring a Reggio Emilia-inspired approach to early childhood education. Through interviews with teachers, families, administrators, and students, this documentary examines how play-based learning, nature exploration, creativity, and child-led curiosity shape the educational experience for some of Union’s youngest learners. From outdoor adventures and artistic expression to meaningful family partnerships and inclusive classroom environments, the film captures the philosophy and heart behind a program many describe as “magical.”

Accreditation

National Association for the Education of Young Children Accreditation (NAEYC) of programs for young children represents the mark of quality in early childhood education.  

NAEYC Accreditation began in 1985 with the goal of providing an accrediting system that would raise the level of early childhood programs.

Today, more than 7,000 programs are NAEYC Accredited supporting greater readiness for and success in school. 

This rigorous process started with an enrollment request followed by an 18-page application form initiating a year long self assessment process. Multiple staff and family surveys guided our progress as well as ongoing professional development opportunities supporting the development and continuum of NAEYC’s 10 assessed standards including relationships, curriculum, teaching, assessment, health, teachers, families, community relationships, physical environments, and leadership and management. 

Program commendations were given to the Rosa Parks Early Childhood Center in the areas of relationships, teaching, assessment, health, families, community relationships and leadership and management.

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Features

A woman and two young boys are crafting in the foreground, with a classroom filled with shelves and decorations in the background.

Welcome to the Rosa Parks Early Childhood Education Center!

Sarah Ford-Hampton
Early Childhood Center Teacher of the Year

Principal

Alycia Pennington

Alycia Pennington

Alycia Pennington received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Northeastern State University. She completed her Master of School Administration degree, also from NSU in 2008. She was named principal of the Rosa Parks Early Childhood Education Center in spring 2016. Pennington has served as the principal at Boevers Elementary for five years as well as an assistant principal for Rosa Parks and McAuliffe in previous years.  She also has served as a teacher at Andersen Elementary.
 
Pennington has been married for 27 years to Scott Pennington, who is director of Hope – Guidance – Social and Emotional Learning for Union. They have four children.

Early Childhood At A Glance

view of Rosa Parks Early Education Childhood Center
Children and an adult are gathered around a large bowl of colorful building blocks in a classroom with shelves of toys in the background.
A smiling woman stands behind three young children in a classroom, with a basket of craft supplies in the foreground.
Two babies lie in separate wooden cribs in the foreground, with a blue, abstract background visible above them.
A group of young children in the foreground are looking at the camera, while adults are visible in the blurred background of a classroom.
A young child with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a red and white striped shirt and a leopard print jacket, holds up a gold and blue beaded necklace in front of a wire mesh fence, with colorful beaded necklaces hanging in the blurred background.
Children and adults sit at a long table with trays of food in a brightly lit classroom.
Children play with a water table in the foreground while a woman supervises them outdoors with trees in the background.
Two young children stand by a light table covered in colorful magnetic tiles and building blocks, with shelves and buckets visible in the softly lit background.
A group of young children make funny faces in the foreground, with shelves of toys and learning materials visible in the background.
Two young girls sit on wood chips in the foreground, with a playground structure and a fence in the background.
Cheerleaders in red sequined outfits with pom-poms are in the foreground, while people mill about in a hallway in the background.
Children and adults are gathered on a red floor with doilies, illuminated by soft lights and a wall of glass blocks in the background.
A young boy in a striped shirt crafts a beaded necklace in the foreground, while other children work at tables in a brightly lit classroom in the background.
Silhouetted figures of an adult and child walk hand-in-hand down a brightly lit hallway with polished floors.
A young boy in the foreground is focused on threading beads, while in the background, a classroom setting with tables and other children is visible.
A young boy with red hair waves hello in the foreground, while a classroom with tables and shelves is visible in the background.
A group of young children and an adult gather around a bin filled with colorful autumn leaves and petals in a classroom setting.
Four children and an adult sit around a table with food and cards in a classroom with a large window in the background.
In the foreground, a woman and child paint pumpkins at a table adorned with Halloween decorations, while in the background, other adults and children are engaged in activities within a brightly lit room.
A young boy and a woman are painting autumn leaves on a table covered with craft supplies, with a blurred background of a room.
A man and a woman help a young boy paint at a table covered with leaves and art supplies, with shelves of art materials and alphabet letters visible in the background.
A man and a woman help two young children decorate a cake in the foreground, while other children and classroom elements are visible in the background.
A young boy in a blue shirt sits on the floor reading a book, with shelves full of colorful books in the background.
A woman on a couch in the foreground gestures to a group of children sitting on the floor, while in the background, more adults and children are visible in a brightly lit room with large windows.
A young girl in a colorful dress reaches for a book on a shelf filled with colorful spines in a library.
Two young children peek through a colorful block structure in the foreground, with an alphabet chart visible on the wall in the background.