Area women hope dreams of facility come true

To hear Teresa Cobb, Stephanie Hahn, Terri Stinnett and Brandy Bridges talk about it, one would think Brighter Horizons already existed.

The center for typically developing and special needs children, they'll tell you, has a parent library, a music therapy room with a vibrating floor and both indoor and outdoor playgrounds. In the sensory integration gym, children bounce on a floor trampoline and climb a rock wall.

Oh, and don't forget Hahn's favorite part: a play haven specially equipped for children with immune deficiencies who couldn't otherwise be near other children because of potential diseases.

Right now, the one-of-a-kind facility only exists on paper and in the imaginations of the four Southeast Missouri women. But they're getting a start this month with a state grant that will allow them to open a smaller version of the program.

"We want something different," said Stinnett, a special needs instructor. "There's all kinds of wonderful child care out there, but we want people to walk into Brighter Horizons and say, 'Wow.'"

For now, the women will settle on a couple of classrooms in a Southeast Missouri school district. Until their contract is finalized later this month, the women aren't announcing what district they'll be based at. That initial satellite Bright Horizons will be paid for with a three-year preschool grant from the state and will be open to typically developing and special needs children ages 3 to 4.

"It's very important to us to have both typically developing and special needs children," said Stinnett. "Children with special needs need language models and social peer models. Although some people might think typically developing children won't do as well in that environment, that's not true."

Stinnett said the program will be enrichment based for all children and will teach those who are typically developing how to interact with those with special needs. They're hoping for a ratio of two typically developing children for every one special needs child.

The four women met a year ago through Hahn's 2-year-old son, Bryant, who is enrolled in a program at Pediatric Therapy Unlimited in Scott City, where Cobb, Bridges and Stinnett all work.

"As much as preschools try, it's very difficult to have special education integrated into a regular classroom," said Cobb, who is an occupational therapist and founder of Pediatric Therapy Unlimited.

The Brighter Horizons program is built around that concept, said Cobb.

"Each of us comes from a different special needs background, and we all have things we want to include in this school," Cobb said.

The Brighter Horizons dream school would be open to children from birth to age 5, with room for up to 100 children.

If enthusiasm were all they needed, their dream facility would be built and filled with children. But at this point, their big obstacle is money. The state grant cannot go toward a new building, and the women believe the center will cost around $1 million to start and more than $300,000 a year to operate.

They've already received their not-for-profit designation and plan to begin a fund-raising campaign soon. In the meantime, the satellite center will serve as a preview of what the women hope to accomplish in the larger facility.

"We wanted to have something to show people we're serious about this and our hearts are in it," said Hahn. "Hopefully, we'll start out small and grow."

For more information about Brighter Horizons, call (573) 264-1162.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128