Photos courtesy of Summerfield Early Childhood Education Center in Flint will soon have a reconfigured main entrance as part of planned renovations. Photos courtesy Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Flint, Michigan – A major renovation project is scheduled to begin this fall at the Summerfield Early Childhood Education Center in Flint. A $5 million grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to the Genesee Intermediate School District will support the work.
Improvements will include a reconfigured main entrance, a repaired parking lot, and a new roof, boiler system and windows. Together, the updates will lead to an enhanced learning environment and a more welcoming space for young children and their families.
“Strengthening early childhood education opportunities in Flint is a priority for the Mott Foundation,” said Ridgway White, Mott president and CEO
White: “We know children who receive strong early learning experiences are more likely to enter kindergarten ready to succeed. Upgrades at Summerfield will help ensure Flint’s youngest learners have a safe place to grow and develop each day. We’re pleased to help support the good work educators having been doing at the school for more than a decade.”
Summerfield, located at 1360 Milbourne Avenue, was closed as a Flint Community School elementary building after the 2011-12 school year, but it reopened in the fall of 2013 as an early childhood education center. The center offers high-quality services to the approximately 200 students it typically enrolls each year, who range in age from 6 weeks to 5 years.
The Summerfield center is available to Flint kids through a partnership between FCS, which owns the building, and GISD, which operates the program at the site.
“We are grateful to work alongside FCS leadership to ensure that Flint kids have a safe and engaging environment in which to learn,” said Steven Tunnicliff, GISD superintendent.
Tunniclif added: “The upgrades to the building will help us serve our youngest learners and their families for years to come.”
Renovations will begin in the fall of 2024, and school officials hope to see the work completed by the spring of 2025.
“Having multiple spaces for our youngest scholars to learn and grow throughout the community is so important,” said FCS Superintendent Kevelin Jones. “We’re happy to see improvements take place at Summerfield so it can continue to support Flint kids with a strong start to their educational journey.”
