On Wednesday, over 120 people attended “Child Care at Temple:  Today and Tomorrow,” a symposium sponsored by TAUP and the Faculty Senate.  Faculty, librarians, staff, administrators, housekeepers and groundskeepers,  and graduate and undergraduate students came together to find out more about the state and the importance of childcare at Temple and to share their views and ideas.   It was a great turn-out and gave us hope that change is coming on this crucial issue.

Our panel managed to convey a remarkable amount of valuable information in a brief time; we are grateful to Dr. Christine Baker-Smith (Temple’s HOPE Lab),  Prof. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek (Psychology), Prof. Judith Levine (Political Science), Prof. Nora Newcombe (Psychology), and John Huot (Bright Horizons) for informing us about the need for quality childcare for children of all backgrounds, what characterizes quality childcare, and how backup care works.  The handouts were detailed and valuable, and the facilitators and greeters all did a magnificent job of making everyone feel welcomed. Participants were engaged, offering lots of responses to our posted questions. The ideas generated by the small groups – students, faculty and staff members working together– were interesting and showed lots of creative thinking.

One thing was clear:  People not only want more information about child care, they also want to see more varied types of child care and family supports to meet the varied needs of Temple Community members.

The Joint Faculty Senate and TAUP Childcare Committee will be meeting soon to prepare a report of the event and disseminate it widely.  TAUP will be posting materials to our website shortly for those who couldn’t be there.  We also look forward to receiving the administration’s response to the report and proposals we submitted at the end of the Spring term.

If you have any suggestions for follow-up events or activities, please let us know.  But TAUP, in concert with the Faculty Senate and other allies, will continue to push this crucial issue forward. We invite you to join us by emailing Marsha Weinraub (marshaweinraub1@gmail.com).