Every summer, swarms of children can be seen picnicking in the park blocks, riding the MAX and playing in fountains around downtown Portland. Thanks to the Helen Gordon Child Development Center (HGCDC) at Portland State, children of PSU faculty and students experience these summer activities while their parents are working or attending classes.
Every summer, swarms of children can be seen picnicking in the park blocks, riding the MAX and playing in fountains around downtown Portland. Thanks to the Helen Gordon Child Development Center (HGCDC) at Portland State, children of PSU faculty and students experience these summer activities while their parents are working or attending classes.
The HGCDC provides on-campus childcare to PSU students and faculty year-round.Students who take summer classes can keep their children continuously enrolled in the program.
Lynn Green, the infant and toddler coordinator at HGCDC, described the summer activities the youngsters partake in: “Every day they are out on the public transportation system,” Green said. “They go to Wallace Park, the zoo, everywhere.”
Accompanied by licensed caretakers, children often walk or ride to the Hoyt Arboretum and the Park Blocks to enjoy the summer sunshine. Additionally, they are sometimes taken to visit the offices of parents on campus.
“We are out and about in the community,” Green said. “One of our intentions is that we increase the awareness of the children, so that people see them as community members.”
In past years, the center has run a Summer Studies program for students ages seven to 11. This program was started a few years ago, but was not feasible this year because of space.
“It’s hard for parents to find somewhere for them to go [at this age],” Green said.
Through the Summer Studies program, the children were able to use the rock wall in the recreation center and go on hikes nearby. The HGCDC hopes to have this program running again next summer.
Right now the HGCDC summer program is very laid back, Green said. The students start and finish projects as they please, and take every opportunity to get out of the confines of the center and explore the city.
Tom Dornan, a doctoral student in the physics department, drops his six-year-old daughter off at the center when he comes to campus for class.
“HGCDC has provided an environment for Erin to grow and develop in without hindrance,” Dornan said.
He added that it is “a community of caring loving, nurturing, and unbelievably patient souls.”
This is a sentiment echoed by Green who said that “everyday moments are extraordinary moments” with the students.
Dornan feels that the HGCDC fulfills an important role in the life of the modern student.
“PSU has a set of students that are in different stages of life and many with more on their plate than just getting an education,” Dornan said.
Parents who bring their children to the HGCDC know that their children are interacting with other children and adults, as well as learning about and exploring their city and their world.
“It is that feeling that allows our family and other student/faculty families to have piece of mind as well as focus on the necessary distractions of life,” Dornan said.
The programs at the HGCDC are so popular with PSU faculty and students that there is a waiting list to enroll. The HGCDC is located on SW Market and 12th Avenue, and is open every day duringthe summer.
