Center History: Opened in 1977. Mekeel is located on the campus of East Stroudsburg University. We serve university students, faculty and staff and the community at large. Mekeel serves the University as a lab school for the students of the education departments for observations, practical experiences and student teaching experience.
Accreditation Dates: 1993 to present
Center Structure:
2 preschool rooms (28 4-year-olds and 22 3-year-olds)
1 toddler room (15 toddlers)
Parent involvement component: Mekeel strives to engage parents in the involvement of their child’s early education. We encourage parents to attend orientation meetings, open house, pot luck dinners, art fairs, parades etc. as well as come in to the classrooms and introduce some of their hobbies and interests. Mekeel had completed a community-built playground in 2004. We involved Mekeel parents, ESU students, faculty/staff members, school districts and organizations from the community to build the playground. Each fall and spring we look for volunteer help from the parents to complete a clean up and to plant new seeds each season.
AEYC involvement: Monroe County is our local chapter. The staff of Mekeel are very involved and actually are on the board of MCAEYC. One staffperson has also served on the board of PennAEYC.
Staff:
Toddler Teachers:
Michele Causton, AA Early Childhood
Dana Casale, AA Early Childhood
3 yr old Teachers:
Aida Cacace, AA Early Childhood
Maria Perez, MA Early Childhood
4 yr old Teachers:
Debra Miele, AA Early Childhood, BS Elementary Ed., MA Reading
Joan Contopidis, AA Early Childhood