PCDC Parents Voice One Last Hope

Students with children in the Periwinkle Child Development Center attended The Board of Education meeting April 20 with a hope of making one last plea to save the center.

PCDC is a program that benefits not just parents at LB, but also allows students in the educational programs here to complete there practicum under trained profesionals. However, by the end of the meeting it was apparent to the parents that showed up to the Calapooia Center on the Albany Campus they were speaking in vain.

Unfortunately, this is the last term that the PCDC will be in operation, after over 20 years of service to our students and community. In the fall, Head Start is set to take over the child care area, though the contract has not yet been signed.

There is a group of students that are not willing to let this go lightly. 

Melissa Hite, Caila Williams, and Melissa Bledsoe have made repeated attempts to save the PCDC. They have presented alternative plans and possible funding options to LBCC administration. These three parents have been able to pursue their college career and dreams as a result of the resources PCDC provides.

They have been working around the colck with ideas on how to save the center and showed up Wednesday to pitch one last-ditch effort to the board.

Williams is a third year student here at LB and is now dual-enrolled and has two daughters in the program at PCDC. She spoke first and posed some interesting questions to the board. She raised the point that other community colleges (Lane and Chemeketa) have faced similar fates to their child care centers but ended up saving them through student fees. “If students would help support our cause can we save at least one room in the center?” Williams asked.

Hite spoke next, she said LBCC “need to allow the students to make a choice”. She asked “why the center was not a part of the general fund that all students pay into.”

 Head Start (the proposed replacement program for PCDC) still has not signed a contract with LBCC. With fall term right around corner her fears are that they will not be ready in time.

Bledsoe was last to speak on behalf of the center and was hoping to leave a lasting impression with some photos of the children that are being affected as a result of the center closing. She passed out photos, which were displayed on poster board, to the Board to look at while she made her speech. Fewer than half the Board members looked at the photos.

Bledsoe asked the Board directly “is there a deadline?” The board was silent. and she carried on with the same thought in mind that the previous two speakers, wondering what if.

The citizen comments part of the agenda ended with no comments from the Board on any of these students emotional attempts to save their center.

The meeting continued, but during the board comments' section Hal Brayton (Board Member) reminded the students that “in tough times tough decisions have to be made.”

LB is in the midst of many cuts and sacrifices are being made campus wide. Many of them may or may not have affected you. For many student/parents of the PCDC, these cuts are not just hurting their options to stay in school they are in fact “devastating” says Williams.

At a glance;
Online Poll: Go to the Commuter website and take a vote on the issue.

Kids at PCDC Having Some Playground Fun

The children are ready to play after lunch and a little bit of sunshine at the Periwinkle Child Development Center here at Linn Benton Community College. Thursday, April 7.

Riley Rieke gets a push and a smile from his friend Jayden Sears to add to his day.Thursday, April 7 was an especially sunny day at the Periwinkle Child Development Center allowing the kids to have fun and play outside.



Ava Hite loves hanging in the sunshine. Thursday, April 7 at the Periwinkle Child Development Center here at Linn Benton Community College.










LBCC Teams Up with OSU to Offer Study Abroad

Study Abroad suspended!

Or is it?

Yes the Study Abroad Club has been another victim of the recent budget cuts at LBCC and will be temporarily suspended starting fall term of 2011. There is another option, however, for students looking for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a term studying in Fiji, Brazil, Australia, maybe England, or any one of the 70 Countries that Oregon State University's Study Abroad programs have to offer.

Kim Sullivan has been running the study abroad club here at LBCC  since 2008 and was upset to hear about the suspension of the program. Sullivan has helped many students in the past few years through the study abroad process and wanted a way to continue to do so. One of the many benefits of being a student at LB is the ability to be dual-enrolled at OSU in the degree partnership program.

Using these resources, Sullivan will still be able to help students do a study abroad trip in one of the 200 programs that OSU has to offer. Once a student has successfully completed the degree partnership application, they can then take advantage of this amazing experience and begin a life-changing journey.

Ann Helms, a former student at LB who is now studying at OSU, liked her experience enough during her study abroad in London last spring that she is already signed up to go on another study abroad  in the fall through OSU. When asked to about her experience in London, Helms said she “couldn’t have asked for more out of it."

The financial aspect of a study abroad is one that can throw a lot of students off. There is hope, however. If you follow Sullivan's advice of planning ahead and staying on top of the deadlines, you can get assistance. There are scholarships out there for students that are Pell eligible and your financial aid advisers can work with you to get the most out of your financial aid. The Gilman scholarship alone can award up to $5,000 to a student.

Image from blogs.oregonstate.edu

Katie Landgren, a history major here at LB who also spent a term abroad in London last spring was awarded $3,500 from the Gilman and $2,000 from other scholarships to help pay for her experience. Landren also had nothing but good things to say about her time in England. While studying the History of the British Empire, Drama Writing, Travel Writing, and World History, she was also able to see the famous Stonehenge and travel to Scotland on a four day excursion.

For several students, the college process and lengthy time it takes to complete can be a drag and seem repetitive at times. The study abroad gives students a jolt of energy and breath of fresh air into their college experience. There is no better way to get a well-rounded and culturally balanced education than a term away from home in a foreign country.  There are many options available some lasting only three weeks to others that are a full term.

 It’s hard to say whether LB will ever officially bring back the Study Abroad Club to allow all of our student's to enjoy this experience, but you shouldn't be afraid to get involved and ask questions on how you can do a term away from home.

At a glance:

If you would like to follow a current student on her study abroad in London check out Emily Rose's blog as she updates her adventures and experiences over the next 10 weeks. 


For more information on the Study Abroad Club go see Kim Sullivan in the Admissions office in Takena Hall or email her at sullivk@linnbenton.edu .