Medgar Evers College Opened Indoor Play Space
The Ella Baker/Charles Romain Child Development Center now features a dedicated gymnasium for students aged two to four.
Updated on Oct. 7, 2026 in Child Care
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Medgar Evers College has officially unveiled a new 864-square-foot indoor play space designed for children enrolled at its onsite development center. The facility provides a dedicated environment for motor skill development, replacing the previous arrangement where toddlers shared space with older students.
Why it matters
This expansion provides a specialized environment for early childhood development while addressing the needs of student-parents. By repurposing campus square footage, the college aims to improve the daily learning experience for its youngest campus community members.
The new gymnasium serves children ages 2 through 4, supporting a student body where 20% of enrollees are parents. One-third of the center's total seats are reserved for faculty, staff, and neighboring Brooklyn community members.
The players
Medgar Evers College
This is a senior college of The City University of New York located in the borough of Brooklyn.
CUNY
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City and currently operates 17 campus-based childcare centers.
Ella Baker/Charles Romain Child Development Center
This is the onsite childcare facility at Medgar Evers College that serves young children of the campus community.
The details
The college transformed an existing campus area to establish the facility, ensuring children no longer need to share gym space with older students. Funded by the state and QUALITYstarsNY, the center now integrates these new facilities with its established weekly yoga classes.
Timeline
October 7, 2026: The CUNY Chancellor toured the new indoor play space at Medgar Evers College.
Culture Shift
This development aligns with the quality standards established by QUALITYstarsNY to improve early childhood education settings. It reflects a growing institutional movement to prioritize dedicated infrastructure for student-parents across higher education systems.
Parents within the CUNY system can expect a more specialized developmental environment for their children, including age-appropriate motor skill instruction. Families from the surrounding neighborhood may also benefit from the center's policy of keeping one-third of its seats open to the local community.
The takeaway
Dedicated campus facilities demonstrate how institutions can leverage existing real estate to support the specific needs of parent-students. This transition from shared gym space to a specialized area highlights a shift toward prioritizing early childhood developmental milestones in higher education.
Further reading
Learn more about local resources and standards at the Child Care hub.
More information
Find additional details on campus resources on the CUNY institutional website.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Ourtimepress.
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