Park District Leases Space in Downtown Building

A new preschool will open this fall in leased space inside the downtown Heritage Professional Center, with a plan for more children and adult programs to follow.

The district has leased space in the building at 24023 Lockport St., which is also home to and , with a goal of being ready for occupancy by late August by the Great Adventures Program for Preschoolers, the park district said in a media release.

Great Adventures Program for Preschoolers will synchronize its schedule with the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.

Once the school is operational, the release said, more park district classes and programs for children and adults will be scheduled. District officials say the new facility will allow them to offer a wider range of programs in the evenings, on the weekends and year-round, the release said.

“The recreation staff is always coming up with new program ideas but the challenge has always been to find the physical space to hold them,” said Cheryl Crisman, superintendent of recreation.

“This facility is a wonderful opportunity for us, not only to expand our current program offerings, but also to offer some new and different things.”

The idea of opening a downtown facility is part of the 2010-14 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which calls for "an indoor facility that meets the expressed priorities and unmet needs of the Plainfield Park District community,” said Executive Director Greg Bott.

“One of the strategies determined to meet that goal was to consider alternative means of providing an indoor facility, including investigating the leasing of empty and unutilized buildings and facilities of private and public entities in the community."

"This building is centrally located in our district, and it allows us to add another facility for Park District programs.”

The Great Adventures preschool is open to children ages 3 to 5. Its philosophy is to let children explore, create, discover, problem solve, and communicate to develop age-appropriate skills, the release said.

Experienced staff members will use a progressive program that exposes students to colors, shapes, numbers and letters. Whole group and small group activities encourage academic and listening skills along with social interaction, according to the release.

Classes begin in early September and run through mid-May

For more information on the Plainfield Park District, call (815) 436-8812 or visit www.plainfieldparkdistrict.com. For more information on the Great Adventures Program, call (815) 254-2992 or e-mail greatadventures@plainfieldparkdistrict.com.