Anne Kooiker / Winonan

As Winona State University continues preparations for Education Village, educators and students are already planning for the move.

Education Village is a project to combine surrounding buildings by the children’s center  in Wabasha Hall, as well as Wabasha Hall as a whole to create one space to serve education programs.

June Reineke the director of the Wabasha Hall Children’s Center, is looking forward to the stronger partnership with Winona State.

“One thing we learned early on with bush is how important partnership is, so the idea of being able to take our students to practicing classrooms so they could see high quality teachers and be a part of the actual classroom instead of having the theory they learn on campus detached from the practice that is in the classroom,” Reineke said.

For the student’s education programs, Reineke said Education Village’s strong relationship with the campus, teachers and faculty will be a great advantage for them.

“For the last 10 years we have been in Wabasha Hall, which is a little disjointed from campus, so now we will have our colleagues, professors of education in our same building,” Reineke said. “So we have this teacher student faultily triangle so it really I think is a great asset to the student.”

With the emerging new technology and re-structuring of the center, the classroom and other areas will have more opportunities like new ways of observing the children.

“So one of the things we have talked about is having some observation windows, having some streaming to go so a class could be upstairs watching a behavioral interaction in our classroom,” Reineke said. “So there should be some technology we can use that will allow students good access but also protecting our children.”

For the students in education programs, observing and practicing outside of courses is very important, according to Reineke.

“How can we align all of those things more closely so that they have classroom experience that they need to understand the theory and groundwork, but then what can we do here just the day they enter WSU to make them come in contact with issues of education, real kids, real families, real issues that impact classrooms,” Reineke said.

There will also be more ways to try out different methods of learning. For example, giving the kids a chance to learn outdoors and try new creative thinking with art and science.

Reineke said one of the best additions to the children’s center is the new outdoor classroom that will explore science and drama.

Cassie Stratton, a preschool teacher at the center, said the stronger partnership and closer proximity between the university and center will create a shorter commute as well.

“I can say it’s bringing Winona State closer to us, so the connections we have at preschool level and even with infant and toddler and practicum and students may make for shorter commutes for people so to speak between class and coming here to do practicum work or work with the PE department or the PESS department,” Stratton said.

Stratton said she is hoping for the community to see this new space as an important investment for learning from birth to adulthood.

“Ideally, they will see how important the children’s center has been and will continue to be as part of a teach 21 and birth through college level learning. There’s more people here and they are seeing where it starts and how it continues.” Stratton said.