Community members, faculty and children at La Estrellita celebrate the opening of new playground
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OSGOOD — On Wednesday afternoon, children and faculty at La Estrellita, part of the Community Council of Idaho’s Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program, celebrated the opening of a new playground after the old one was damaged by a storm.
La Estrellita is located at 3491 West 81st Street North in Osgood and was formerly the Osgood Elementary School. As part of the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program, the children, ages 0 to 5, who attend come from farm-working families who work in agriculture throughout Idaho.
The program aims to help children succeed in school, monitor their health, and work with parents to ensure they are part of the mission to support the child’s growth. Children can participate from birth to age five.
Parents qualify for the program only if 50% of their income comes from agricultural work.
La Estrellita is one of the program’s centers in eastern Idaho, serving children from Idaho Falls, Ammon, Ucon, Menan, Rexburg, Rigby, Ririe, Sugar City, Mud Lake, Terreton, and St. Anthony. The center serves 71 children.
EastIdahoNews.com spoke with Mary Weaver, educational manager for the Community Council of Idaho Seasonal Head Start Program, about the new playground.
She said that while the center closes during the winter months, a windstorm blew through the region this past March, causing damage not only in eastern Idaho but also at La Estrellita.
GALLERY: Here are your wind damage photos
“After that storm that we had, all of our bark, most of our playground, and our shade structure blew away in that storm,” Weaver said.
While trying to find a way to rebuild the playground, the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children reached out to the Community Council of Idaho that same week.
Martin Balben, director of strategic initiative at Idaho AEYC, said it works with various education groups statewide and that the work is grant-funded through the Idaho School Readiness Project.
While that grant aims to elevate education systems to ensure each child has access to the same opportunities for high-quality early education, it also focuses on other aspects of education, such as playgrounds and child care.
As part of the Idaho AEYC, it is gathering local stakeholders and leaders to identify community projects that can support and elevate early education through its Early Learning Collaborative, which identified the need for a playground at La Estrellita.
The new playground took about 10 months from project identification to completion, and the Balben grant requires projects to be completed within a calendar year. While the decision was to officially go ahead with the ribbon cutting, Balden said that the new playground still has yet to install turf, which has been on hold due to the weather over the past few days.
Irma Morin, chief executive officer of Community Council of Idaho, said during the ribbon-cutting that it isn’t just about celebrating the new playground, but about opening a new space for children to create new memories, play and laugh.
She said that while the Head Start program has always focused on investing in children and their future, this playground is another investment in that goal.
Morin thanked the parents and faculty at El Estrellita for helping create opportunities for the families and children who use the program.
“A beautiful playground is important, but it is your commitment to our children and families that truly makes this center special,” Morin said.
