at Naval Air Station North Island on Friday, Sept 17th, at 10:30 a.m.
NAVAL BASE CORONADO, Calif. — The U.S. Navy will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the Child Development Center funded by the First 5 Commission of San Diego, Friday, Sept. 17 at 10:30 a.m.
Speakers will include Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead, Commander of Navy Region Southwest Rear Admiral William French, Deputy Director Family Readiness Mr. Greg Young and First 5 Commissioner and Director of County Health and Human Services Mr. Nick Macchione. The Master of Ceremonies will be Naval Base Coronado Commanding Officer Captain Yancy B. Lindsey.
This facility is the first of two Navy Child Development Centers funded by the First 5 Commission of San Diego. First 5 San Diego promotes and supports early childhood development for children ages newborn through five years-old in San Diego County.
“We know that 90 percent of a child’s brain develops in the first 5 years of life, and a child’s experiences, relationships and environment play a critical role in his or her development,” said Nick Macchione, Director of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. “That’s why early care and education offered in Child Development Centers really help in preparing children to succeed in school and later in life.”
“This is the first Child Development Center at Naval Air Station North Island after nearly 7 years without any of these Centers,” said Naval Base Coronado Commanding Officer Captain Yancy Lindsey. “Navy child and youth programs are among the highest quality in the nation. Through this unique collaboration with Federal, State, and County entities, we are able to better serve our military families and provide them the best possible care for their children with this new facility.”
“First 5 is honored to support San Diego’s military families and their young children by contributing some $5 million dollars from Prop 10 revenues to this worthy center,” said San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob who chairs the First 5 Commission.
The child development center has the capacity for 112 children and includes site development for play areas, new parking, drop-off areas and service entrance. The facility has also been designed to accommodate a future expansion so that the facility will be capable of caring for approximately 300 children.
