Preschool will be first step in church's plan
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD - Church officials at New Beginnings Agape Christian Center, Throckmorton Street, are preparing to open a day- care center and a preschool. The facilities are expected be ready by early summer.

"The preschool, which is called All God's Children, is a part of the overall vision the Lord gave our pastor in 1997," the Rev. Ricky Pierce said.

The vision for the area around the church at the corner of Throckmorton and Haley streets also included a K-8 Christian academy, a senior citizens facility and a homeless shelter, Pierce said.

The day-care center and preschool will be housed in what was once the original Second Baptist Church. The 100-year-old structure eventually became known as the church's Fellowship Hall.

Pierce quoted the Bible, saying, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men."

Pierce, who is a minister at the church, is also the chairman of the I Beseech Thee Community Development Corporation. The corporation is responsible for funding the project through the generosity of congregants and private donations. He said members of the corporation have been "very blessed."

The cost of the renovation of the Fellowship Hall was estimated at $300,000, but pared down to $75,000. The project will probably need another $20,000 for technology and playground equipment to complete the church's vision.

The mission of the day-care center and preschool, according to the minister, is to improve the quality of life for all residents in Freehold Borough and surrounding communities. He said the day-care center will provide quality day care at reasonable prices.

The day care center and preschool has been part of the church's vision plan for several years. The project was delayed when the Fellowship Hall was used several years ago as an employment hall for the community's day laborers.

Brother Clarence Cyrus, who serves as church Elder, is the project director of the day-care center. He said the corporation wants to lessen the burden for those who are finding it difficult to find quality day care.

Billie Hudson Jr., church deacon, also serves the corporation as executive assistant. Hudson said the day-care center will help to fill a community need for parents who must work and are having difficulty finding quality day care. He said he hopes the new day-care center will fill that gap.

Right now the day-care center is waiting - for furniture, for toys, for computers, for the tiny cubbies where little ones will place their coats, lunches, snacks and other possessions. But the soft beige carpeting that spans the large area will be the foundation for much more - babies and young children who will be nurtured and taught in a loving, caring environment that will serve as their daytime home away from home.

While the building may be vintage, the preschool will have up-to-date curriculum and technology, according to day care center committee member Felicia Hardman-Stradford.

Hardman-Stradford, a special education teacher in the Manalapan-English-town Regional School District, said the curriculum will be based on the National Association of Education for Young Children, which is the curriculum she said most preschools use.

Hardman-Stradford owned and operated Baby Boomers, a nursery school in Staten Island, N.Y., for 10 years. In addition to her teaching position she runs Greenhouse Consulting and provides training for day-care providers.

Hardman-Stradford is working with committee members Shernell Morris and the Rev. Keith Roberson to plan the curriculum. Roberson will oversee the day-care center.

"This school is for parents who are trying to find quality education. Our curriculum will make sure that each child's education prepares him or her for whatever school system the child will enter," she said.

According to Hardman-Stradford, there will be no food service when the day-care center and preschool opens, but she said she is researching food programs to see about bringing meals into the facility sometime down the road.

The center is requesting donations of children's furniture, cots and high chairs, as well as monetary contributions. Enrollment information or donation arrangements may be obtained by calling (732) 409-0309.