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FRANKLIN TWP — Since its founding in 1973, the Butler County Children's Center has expanded as has awareness of the importance of early childhood education.
In 2010-11 its budget was $8.7 million to serve 2,544 children and their families.
“You have to run it as a business to stay afloat,” Alice Nunes, chief executive officer, said of the private nonprofit. “Grants come and go.”
The center's Child Care Information Services program subsidizes day care for low-income families and runs a licensed private kindergarten with a sliding fee scale. It funds “school readiness” programs, including Head Start, Early Head Start and Pre-K Counts, mainly for low-income families.
The center also monitors 102 family day care homes for the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
In addition, the center partners with Northwest Regional Key to provide training for child care workers and parents in Butler and six area counties. In 2011, the center presented workshops for 278 child care staff and 382 parents.
Although some budget cuts and freezes are looming, Nunes and her volunteer board are committed to continuing to serve all their clients, she said.
“We're always trying to stay on top of early childhood education,” Nunes said, including staying abreast of new curriculums and best practices.
For example, some programs require that parents be involved in their children's education.
“It's trendy right now, but we've always believed that,” Nunes said.
The center asks parents to participate through book clubs for parents and their children, a monthly parents' meeting, a monthly family activity, and a monthly “male involvement” activity.
Nunes, a graduate of Slippery Rock University, worked her way through the ranks to become chief executive officer at the center.
After graduation, she moved to Butler to teach, she said. Her first job at the center was as an assistant teacher. She later got her own classroom.At the same time, she took early childhood education classes whenever she could, at SRU, the University of Pittsburgh and at Butler County Community College. She earned a management certificate from SRU.Nunes also married and had two children. Following her second maternity leave, she left the classroom to become education coordinator for five classrooms. Although it started as a part-time job, it wasn't part-time for long, only about a year and a half, she said.“It was good, being a mother, to have my children in the same building,” she said.When she returned to full-time work, Nunes moved into a program director role, which she held until she got the CEO post in 2003.“You have to be willing to learn,” Nunes said about her journey through the center's hierarchy. “You have to love kids and be willing to be a change agent. You have to embrace new ideas.”Nunes said each position she's held has brought its own challenges. As CEO, she's experienced the joy that comes from seeing a new idea and making it work.For example, in 2009 the center received an expansion grant to provide Early Head Start services to 40 new families.Also in 2009, it bought the Franklin Township Elementary School and moved its administrative offices there.“We rented this building for 13 years,' Nunes says.Ownership has provided the incentive to build new playgrounds and improve staff offices.As chief executive, Nunes manages a 140-person staff in 11 locations.About four years ago, the nonprofit improved salaries and benefits to reduce turnover, she said. Now the staff is stable, although only “seven or eight” men are on staff, and none are in the classroom. She wishes more men were teachers.Nunes encourages each of the center's managers to engage in community service. That effort recently resulted in an application for the center to provide meals during the summer in low-income communities, working from three kitchens.The center wouldn't have heard of the new program, led by the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, if it had not been involved in the community.“You have to keep your finger on what's happening in the community,” she said.
<B>Name: </B>Alice Nunes<B>Address: </B>Butler<B>Employment: </B>Chief executive officer<B>Education: </B>Slippery Rock University bachelor's; SRU certificate in management<B>Hobbies: </B>Card club, golf, walking, pleasure reading<B>Children: </B>Amber Buser, Troy Nunes<I>‘You have to keep your finger on what's happening in the community.'</I>
Alice Nunes, chief executive officer of Butler County Children's Center, offers these tips to improve the quality of life in Butler County:• Public transportation needs to be expanded.• She would like to see downtown Butler “be a hub again.”
Alice Nunes, chief executive officer of Butler County Children's Center, offers these tips to be successful in business:• Invest in your own education• Keep abreast of trends in your profession• Be flexible• Stay involved in your community• Like what you do.
<B>Name: </B>Butler County Children’s Center<B>Office: </B>139 Rieger Road, Butler<B>Top official:</B> Alice Nunes, chief executive officer<B>Serves:</B> Agency served 2,544 children last year<B>Employees: </B>140<B>Info: </B>http://www.bcccinc.org/<B>Mission: </B>Provide a variety of children’s programs and quality services to meet the comprehensive needs of families.
