Cela's Creative Learning Academy moves downtown

Cela's Creative Learning Center in Medical Lake is inviting the public to an open house this Saturday, Nov. 14, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. to help them celebrate a couple of changes.

The first is a name change. The center, which has been in Medical Lake for over eight years, is now Cela's Creative Learning Academy.

Academy owner Maricela Lindsey said there was nothing specific that came with the name change other than better reflecting the learning environment taking place.

"We want (our) teachers to be viewed as professionals," she said. "Learning center is not a bad name. We just want to make it more professional."

The second and more important change for the academy is in a new and much larger location in downtown Medical Lake. Cela's is now in the former site of LindaBee's Diner on the northwest corner of Lefevre and Lake streets, occupying the entire building.

The move, which was completed in time for the academy to open in September, allows Cela's to offer more and expanded programs. Currently the academy provides learning for infants and "waddlers," ages 12 – 18 months, toddlers, ages 18 – 36 months, preschool, pre-kindergarten and before and/or after school for school age children ages 5 – 13 years old.

"A lot of them are 'and,'" Sharon Enright, academy program supervisor, said of the students coming before and staying after school.

Cela's has 19 teachers, which includes several part-time Eastern Washington University students working towards degrees in early childhood education, along with a couple Medical Lake High School students involved in a work-study experience. They maintain a 10:1 student-teacher ratio with the exception of the infants' classroom where a 3:1 ratio is used, better than the state required 4:1.

For the waddlers/infants and toddlers, instruction at Cela's is centered on developing fine and large motor dexterity, cognitive abilities and socialization skills. This continues through preschool, centering on teaching the children independence and self-reliance in doing normal daily tasks along with continuing to develop learning capabilities.

In pre-kindergarten, the students begin to learn their ABCs and numbers, discovering not only how to count from 1 – 20, but what the concept of that number means in physical terms. Lindsey said they consult with local elementary school teachers to make sure their instruction dovetails with what students will be experiencing when they reach kindergarten.

"They let us know what they want the children to know before they enter kindergarten," she said.

Going along with the motor, cognitive and socialization skills is instruction in STEM, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. There's also instruction in the arts, which essentially turns what Cela's is teaching into "STEAM," Lindsey said.

"We want to give them knowledge," Lindsey said. "There is more than meets the eye in certain careers."

Enright said each classroom is set up with specific purposes, and all incorporate areas for science, arts, a library, motor and manipulation skills and other needs.

"Each according to the age it's set up for," Enright said.

The academy even has a commercial kitchen; capitalizing on the fact a portion of it was a diner. The meals incorporate U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition standards, are made from scratch and served "family style." Lindsey said they determine if students have food allergies, and if so, do not use anything incorporating those ingredients.

Another benefit from moving to a larger location is the addition of an expanded playground. Facility supervisor Ed Mercer said they need 75 square feet of play area per child, and with 5,400 square feet at the new location, are in good shape.

"We have more than enough area here for children and we wanted it that way," he said.

Space at Cela's is available, but in demand. Lindsey declined to discuss tuition at the academy, noting it is likely to go up in December, but adding there are multiple avenues for assistance.

"A lot of kids love it here, and don't want to go home sometimes," she said.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].