Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center. Office of the Director Search this
Extent:
2 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Books
Manuscripts
Drawings
Date:
circa 1975, 1988-1993
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of the administrative records of Sharon E. Shaffer, Executive Director of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC). Materials include
records which document planning for the Infant Care Center and miscellaneous improvements; agendas of the Child Care Forum; a study of the Smithsonian Child Care Project;
parent association meeting minutes; tuition and fee information; budget summaries; specifications for the child care facility at the National Museum of American History; registration
procedures; issues of the SEEC newsletter Museum Mews; meeting minutes; blueprints of the Infant Care Center at the Arts and Industries Building; correspondence and
memoranda of Katherine M. Tkac, who played an important role in bringing child care to the Smithsonian Institution; and information about the Child Care Food Program.
7.5 cu. ft. (13 document boxes) (2 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Clippings
Black-and-white photographs
Date:
1981-1994
Introduction:
These records of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC), 1984-1994, Record Unit 7443, were created in its establishment and operation from 1984 to 1994. They
were transferred to the Smithsonian Archives by Kathleen T. Baxter, Co-Chair of the Smithsonian Institution Women's Council Child Care Committee, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Child Care Advisory Board, and President of the SEEC Board of Directors; Gretchen Gayle Ellsworth, President of the Child Care Advisory Board; Katherine Sprague (TKAC), Co-Chair
of the Smithsonian Institution Women's Council Child Care Committee, Treasurer of the Child Care Advisory Board, and member of the Infant Care Task Force; and Sharon Shaffer,
Director of SEEC.
Descriptive Entry:
The Records of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC), Record Unit 7443, are mainly from 1987-1992, with some material from 1981-1982, 1984-1986, and 1993-1994.
These records are of three women who were instrumental in the establishment of child care at the Smithsonian and of the SEEC Director's first few years. These records consist
of meeting minutes, agenda, and correspondence of the Smithsonian Institution Women's Council (SIWC) Child Care Committee, the Child Care Advisory Board (CCAB), the Smithsonian
Child Care Center Board of Directors, the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center Board of Directors, the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center Parents Association, and the Infant
Task Force; proposals, architectural drawings, and correspondence dealing with the selection and preparation of sites for the National Museum of American History (NMAH) branch
and the Arts & Industries Infant Care Center; personnel and financial records; records of the IBM/SEEC curriculum project; and photographs of events at the NMAH center.
For related records, consult Record Unit 310, Records of the Smithsonian Institution Women's Council, 1972-1983, and Record Unit 507, Records of the Smithsonian Institution
Women's Council, 1973-1992.
Historical Note:
When the Smithsonian Institution Women's Council (SIWC) was formed in 1972, it immediately adopted as a primary goal the establishment of a child care center at the
Institution. This council of Smithsonian employees, established for the purpose of conveying to the Smithsonian administration the concerns and needs of all employees but
especially women, continued to work on that goal for the next fifteen years. The SIWC intensified their efforts in 1986: conducted surveys to determine the need for and support
of an on-site child care center, conducted feasibility studies for the various sites proposed, and obtained the professional advice of child care consultants. In January of
1987, as a result of these efforts, John Jameson, Assistant Secretary for Administration, appointed a Smithsonian Child Care Advisory Board (CCAB). The mission of the CCAB
was to investigate and report to SI management the prospective budget, policy, operations, facilities, and curriculum of a child care center at the Smithsonian. The Board
originally formed three subcommittees: policy, budget, and facilities. Each subcommittee undertook an in-depth analysis of their area of responsibility and formulated a comprehensive
overview of the necessary steps toward implementation. When the Advisory Board presented its business plan to the SI Management Committee in May of 1987, the Committee gave
its approval to proceed in setting up a center.
Although the Smithsonian generously offered to provide start-up funds and continual rent-free space and utilities, as well as other "in-kind" services, the Board and the
Smithsonian agreed that the child care center would be independently incorporated. From the beginning, the CCAB anticipated that more than one center would ultimately be formed:
the first child care center would hold fifty toddlers from ages two to five, and subsequent centers would be formed as need required and means allowed. In November of 1987,
the CCAB was ready to incorporate formally as the Board of Directors for the Smithsonian Child Care Center, and to look forward to the opening of the first center in the National
Museum of American History, which opened on October 3, 1988. As was stipulated in the Board By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation, the founding Board of Directors was replaced
shortly thereafter by an elected, parent-majority board, and a Parents Association was established as a means of providing parent input and support for the Center and its
Board. On January 1, 1989, the newly formed Board changed the name of the child care center to the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, to more accurately reflect the unique
character of the Center and its museum-based curriculum.
The Board officers at the time of incorporation were: Gretchen Gayle Ellsworth, President; Betty B. Derbyshire, Vice-President; Kathleen T. Baxter, Secretary; Katherine
Sprague, Treasurer; Lauryn G. Grant, Counsel. The Board officers during the first year of operation (Fall 1988-Fall 1989) were: Kathleen T. Baxter, President; John Daniel
Reaves, Vice-President and Counsel; Frances T. Jones, Secretary; Diane Homiak, Treasurer.
Since 1989, the Board of Directors has devoted itself to oversight of the operations of the center, to further development of curriculum, and to expansion into other buildings.
The Board began a project in 1989 with IBM to translate, produce, and market the "Museum Magic" curriculum for computer, which was never completed. The Board has also investigated
publishing the curriculum. In January 1991, the Infant Care Center opened in the Arts & Industries Building. This branch of SEEC served 25 children from three months to
two years old. The planning was undertaken by an Infant Task Force, made up of members of the Board of Directors. The two branches of SEEC are governed centrally, under the
same Director, Board of Directors, and Parents Association.
Restrictions:
Box 13 contains materials restricted indefinitely; see finding aid; Contact reference staff for details.
Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center. Office of the Director Search this
Extent:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Architectural drawings
Date:
circa 1987-1996
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of the administrative records of Sharon E. Shaffer, Executive Director of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC). Materials include
correspondence, memoranda, and notes; SEEC Board of Directors meeting minutes; information on the National Dissemination Project; playground site plan information; articles
of incorporation and bylaws; proposals; and blueprints of the child daycare center in the Arts and Industries Building.
Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center. Office of the Director Search this
Extent:
0.5 cu. ft. (1 document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Manuscripts
Architectural drawings
Date:
1988-1995
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of the administrative records of Sharon E. Shaffer, Executive Director of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC). Materials include
minutes and notes of the Board of Directors; correspondence and memoranda; architectural plans; flyers announcing SEEC summer camp activities; staff development material;
program manuals for parents; and copies of the SEEC newsletter Museum Mews.
