Penn College

Albert serves as national panelist on child care reopenings

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Barbara J. Albert, director of the Dunham Children’s Learning Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology, recently served as a panelist for a national video conference on reopening child care centers following pandemic-related closures.

The virtual panel discussion was hosted by the National Coalition for Campus Childcare Centers on May 27. 

Albert was among four directors of child care centers on college campuses who shared their experiences and advice regarding programs that remained open or recently reopened, answering questions from coalition members. The other three directors were from Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada. Despite the varying regions, the challenges faced by all four were similar, Albert explained.

The Dunham Children’s Learning Center at Penn College reopened on May 11, when Lycoming County was moved to the “yellow phase” of the governor’s plan to reopen Pennsylvania amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“It was so helpful to me to hear from other directors who were open before we opened,” Albert said. “This was my way of paying it forward.”

Albert has been employed by the Children’s Learning Center since 1994 and has been its director since 2013. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bucknell University and a master’s degree in human development and family studies from Penn State.

She is a member of the Early Learning Resource Center 7 Local Leadership Council and the Lycoming County Early Learning Team and is a certified Pennsylvania Quality Assurance System Instructor, providing professional development and technical assistance to others in the field.

The Children’s Learning Center at Penn College provides early childhood care and education for children of students and employees. The center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. It is a Star 4 facility, the highest recognition level available through Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS program. To learn more, call 570-320-8026 or visit www.pct.edu/childcare.

For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.

Last Updated June 5, 2020