Partners for Children, Inc. a nonprofit child development center for preschoolers at Inskip United Methodist Church 714 Cedar Lane, Knoxville, TN, USA

Partners for Children, Inc. (PFC) is a nonprofit organization that operates a child development center for preschoolers in space provided by Inskip United Methodist Church at 714 Cedar Lane in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Services are provided Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except that the center usually does not operate on days that area schools are closed, including weather-related closings.

PFC is licensed by the State of Tennessee Department of Human Services and has earned a three-star ranking, the highest ranking awarded by the state, for five consecutive years.  It shows that the center is in full compliance with stipulated regulations set by the state with regard to facilities, management, curriculum, and teacher/student ratio. The Center has also been recognized by Governor Phil Bredesen's Council on Physical Fitness & Health as "Gold Sneaker Facility."

Contingent upon openings available in the class rooms, PFC’s programs are offered without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, or religion. The programs cover children in the age range from 12 months to 5 years.

PFC History

PFC was established in 1989 by a partnership of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, Southern Regional Board (currently UNITE HERE) and the Knoxville Cooperative Parish of the United Methodist Church, which is comprised of four inner-city United Methodist churches: Emerald Avenue, Lincoln Park, Oakwood, and Lynnwood. Inskip United Methodist Church joined the partnership in 1999.

PFC’s original facility was located at the UNITE Building, 1124 North Broadway, Knoxville, where it provided child care for children ages 2-5 from 1989 to 2003. A second location for children from infants through age 5 was established at Inskip United Methodist Church in 1999. On December 31, 2003, PFC consolidated its two centers at the Inskip Church location, and on July 21, 2005, the age range for children to register in PFC was changed to 12 months to 5 years (classes ranging from toddlers to pre-K).

Oversight of PFC is provided by a Board of Directors that meets monthly and is comprised of representatives from the participating partners and from the community at large.

PFC Philosophy

PFC believes that children learn best in an environment in which they can actively participate. PFC’s goal is to facilitate learning by providing a positive, stimulating environment in which children can develop the cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual skills necessary to effectively function in our society.

Down through history, the family has formed the basic unit upon which our culture depends for its stability and strength. The family nurtures its members throughout their lives, guiding their moral development and giving them spiritual values. Within the recent past, however, our society has gone through rapid and dramatic social and economic changes that have had a direct impact on the family, creating new and often unmet needs. One of the most urgent needs is the provision for affordable quality child-care programs as a growing number of women enter the workforce, either as the sole support of their families or as substantial contributors to the support of their families. While important steps have been taken to respond to this need, much more needs to be done. This gap in care is a threat to the health and well-being of our children, our families and our entire community.

PFC was organized with the confidence that solutions to this problem can best be found through a partnership among committed individuals and organizations that share common goals on behalf of children.

PFC Program Goals

In planning its early childhood program, PFC’s goals have been to foster Judeo-Christian and democratic values and to help children function in a fast-changing world. Specifically, PFC assists children in developing:

• the capacity to emotionally invest in people by trusting and respecting them,

• the ability to act and think independently and to develop self-control,

• a feeling of self-worth and self-confidence,

• skills in communicating ideas and feelings,

• effective interpersonal and social interaction skills,

• the ability to understand and organize information about their physical and social environment,

• problem-solving skills,

• a curiosity about the world and pleasure in learning and exploring, and

• an awareness of life as a gift from God the Creator.

It is necessary to draw upon several bodies of knowledge in designing, evaluating, and modifying an early childhood education program. We believe that all aspects of children's development — cognitive, motor, perceptual, language, social-emotional, and spiritual — are important and must be considered as interactive rather than parallel functions. The PFC curriculum supports and encourages children's development in all areas.

We believe that children learn through their interaction with the physical and social environment. The environment should provide for exploration and interaction. Children are given opportunities to direct their own learning through a variety of solitary and group activities.

Teachers provide an exciting and challenging learning environment. They act as facilitators for learning and provide information the children would not be able to discover for themselves. Teachers set developmentally appropriate limits on behaviors, enforce them through the consistent use of consequences, and encourage children to use problem-solving skills to resolve conflicts.

The involvement of parents is an essential aspect of each child's development. Efforts are made to support parents in their child-rearing role. Their participation is encouraged through frequent sharing of information about children and inclusion whenever possible in daily routines and activities at the center.

PFC Events and Celebrations

Throughout the year, PFC observes several events that provide the children social interchange and an awareness of the needs of others. Special celebrations are also observed.

Week of the Young Child is a week-long celebration that emphasizes a designated theme. During the week the children participate in special fun and learning activities that increase their knowledge of the world they live in.

A trike-a-thon is our special way of raising awareness about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which is a primary care facility for all children with cancer. During this event, the children ride tricycles and complete as many laps on a circular driveway as they can. Prior to the trike-a-thon each child obtains pledges from family and friends to give specified amounts of money to St. Jude for each lap he or she completes. The collected donations are sent to St. Jude, which always responds to PFC with some kind of thank-you gift for the children.

A hop-a-thon is a special PFC activity to raise awareness for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and to teach the children to naturally include handicapped children within their circles of friends. During late spring the children obtain pledges from family members and friends to give money for each time they hop during a specified time period. All donations collected are sent to MDA prior to the Labor Day telethon for that year. If the gift meets a monetary goal designated by MDA, the group will be recognized during the telethon.

Parent seminars are scheduled several times a year to focus on issues of interest to parents. Sometimes videos and outside speakers are included in these seminars.

Holiday events celebrated at Partners for Children are Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick's Day, and Easter.

A birthday party is given for each child, usually with the child’s parents providing the refreshments.

Graduation day is observed in late May for the children who are leaving PFC to enter kindergarten in the local school system. The children present a program for parents, other family members, and friends, followed by refreshments.

PFC Staff Requirements and Curriculum

Staff Pre-employment Qualifications

Persons applying to join the PFC staff must present a high school diploma or the equivalent, they must undergo a health screening, and they must pass a criminal background check with Knox County Police Department.

Staff On-going Educational Requirements

New teachers must attend a “new employee orientation” on child development. All teaching staff are required to attend 30 hours of training provided through Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance (TECTA). 

All teaching staff must complete 18 hours of training annually. They are also required to be certified in first aid and CPR.

Curriculum

The PFC curriculum follows the same general themes recommended by the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation for preschoolers.

PFC Fees

The current fee structure for Partners for Children is as follows:

12 months to 2 years:		$138 per week
2 to 3 years:		$130 per week
3 years and older:		$119 per week

These fees are primarily paid by parents or, for qualifying families, by the State of Tennessee with co-payments of varying amounts required from the families. In addition, some families not qualifying for state assistance but meeting other criteria may be eligible for assistance from PFC’s scholarship funds.

PFC Scholarships

Roxie Davis Price Scholarship

This scholarship was established on January 27, 2003, the 99th birthday of Roxie Davis Price, with a founding gift from her estate following her death on December 9, 2002. The scholarship is being perpetuated with gifts from family and friends who believe, as she did, that all children should be afforded the opportunity of beginning their lives in a caring environment. Eligible families are those who do not qualify for state support but have insufficient income to pay full tuition fees. The amount of support that can be given from this fund to help pay fees depends on the amount of scholarship funds available each year. (Click here to see scholarship brochure.)

For the year 2007, Partners for Children received a grant from Rosie O’Donnell’s foundation called Rosie’s For All Kids (click here to see their web site). The foundation specified that the funds should be used to cover the copayments of families receiving state support for their fees. It also allowed for additional help in fee payments for families eligible for funds from the Roxie Davis Price Scholarship.

For the year 2008, Partners for Children received a grant from the Change for Children Fund of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church (click here to see their web site) at the Annual Conference at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, in June 2008. This grant was given to assist in providing scholarship funds to those eligible to receive scholarships from the Roxie Davis Price Scholarship Fund.

(Click here to see the story of Partners for Children grant found in "The Call," Vol. E, No. 33, September 24, 2008.)

For the year 2008, Partners for Children received a grant from Mount Rest Home Foundation (click here to see their web site) to cover a Roxie Davis Price scholarship for one child for one year.

Pre-enrollment Form

A pre-enrollment form for Partners for Children is provided on this website in Microsoft Word and PDF formats. Click on one to print out form. Fill in and mail to address shown at the bottom of the form.

Composition of the Board

Oversight of the operation of Partners for Children is carried out by a Board of Directors elected or re-elected each calendar year. As a founding institution, the Knoxville District Cooperative Parish of the United Methodist Church may be represented on the board by four persons selected by the parish. As the provider of space for PFC, the Inskip United Methodist Church has the same rights as a founding institution and also may be represented on the board by four persons selected by the church. The length of time served by the representatives from these founding institutions is determined by the institutions themselves.

The board shall also have one teacher representative who is elected to serve one year with eligibility for reelection to a second year.

In addition, the Knoxville District United Methodist Women may be represented by one person chosen by that group. The remaining representatives are elected from the community at large. All these representatives are elected for two years with eligibility for reelection for successive terms for a maximum of 12 years.

The total board shall not exceed 24 members, excluding the PFC executive director and the PFC business manager, both of whom shall be non-voting ex-officio members.

If any entity fails to provide a full slate of representatives, then the board may fill the vacant slots by additional representatives from the community. The bylaws also allow for the addition of four representatives from any major organization that becomes significantly involved in the work of Partners for Children in the future.

Roster of the 2009 Board

Gerald P. (Pat) Berney, Knoxville Cooperative Parish Representative, Lincoln Park United Methodist Church (Chairman)

Reverend James (Jimmy) R. Walker, Community Representative (Vice Chairman)

Lorraine S. Abbott, Inskip United Methodist Church Representative (Secretary)

Roberta (Bobbie) W. Redcorn, Inskip United Methodist Church Representative (Treasurer)

Reverend Robert (Bob) H. Bean, Director of Knoxville District Cooperative Parish  of Holston Conference, Pastor of Emerald Avenue United Methodist Church, and a founder of PFC.

Harry B. Cate, Inskip United Methodist Church Representative

Jan Kaman, Inskip United Methodist Church Representative

JoElla McCall, Knoxville District United Methodist Women Representative

Cindy Dalton, PFC Executive Director (Ex-officio Member)

Shirley Westbrook, PFC Business Manager (Ex-officio Member)

Ashley Fuell, PFC Fundraising Representative (Ex-officio Member)

Ginny Hickman, PFC Teacher Representative (Ex-officio Member)

How Can You Help?

Partners for Children solicits the help of others in the form of gifts of money or supplies or as volunteer workers. (See contact information below.)

Monetary gifts may be given to:

1. The PFC General Operating Fund. Undesignated gifts to this fund will be used for general operating expenses, including the purchase of supplies and/or equipment as needed.

2. The Roxie Davis Price Scholarship Fund. Gifts to this fund are used to help poor working families who do not qualify for state help to pay child-care fees. (Click here for scholarship brochure.)

Gifts of supplies are always needed, especially the following:

Volunteer help is needed for the following duties:

Reading to the children
Sponsoring special events
Monitoring sleeping children
Acting as chaperones for field trips (pre-K classes only)
Helping with fund raisers
Helping with work projects

How to Contact Partners for Children

Telephone Number: 865-689-9516

E-mail Address: partnersforchildren@comcast.net

Address: 714 Cedar Lane, Knoxville, TN 37912

History | Philosophy | Program Goals | Events and Celebrations 
  Staff Requirements and Curriculum | Fees | Board of Directors
How Can You Help? | Contact Us
Pre-enrollment Form

Startup Grants and Gifts | Scholarships | Scholarship Contributors