In June of 2025 Parent and Child Together (PACT) of West Central Illinois and John Wood Community College (JWCC) cut the ribbon on an Early Head Start Center. The facility on JWCC’s Quincy campus is a partnership addresses multiple pieces of the local childcare puzzle.
Multiple community and private partners have joined forces to provide more childcare for the region’s workers while providing scholarships and incentives for current students to pursue early childhood and education pathways. JWCC and PACT’s partnership is part of that effort.
PACT’s facility opened in the fall and serves children aged 0-3 with early head start services. Today, PACT staff and JWCC early childhood students work side-by-side to serve the children and prepare future educators. Simultaneously, JWCC students use the services, which allow them to study and work on their own career pathways.
In addition to serving as a lab for future professionals, PACT’s facility is supported by JWCC’s culinary arts program, whose students prepare food for children and staff each day.
PACT Executive Director Sara Mixer says the partnership is quickly becoming a model of public partnership that delivers quality care and instruction that most prudently uses public investment.
“Our collaboration with John Wood Community College is a strong example of what a partnership can accomplish,” Mixer shared. “Together, we are supporting working families, preparing future educators through hands-on experience, and delivering high-quality Early Head Start services – all while make the most responsible use of public resources.”
Megan Mock studies at JWCC while her child receives care and early head start services from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.
“I love that I can trust that my child is in good hands while I am in class,” Mock relayed. “It’s also nice to have a break to do homework or work my part time job, knowing that my child is safe and well cared for.”
Libby Goodwin, another JWCC student studying early childhood education, has gained valuable experiential learning as a PACT staff member in the last several months.
“I feel so grateful to be part of the PACT Head Start daycare program,” Goodwin said. “I absolutely love being surrounded by such a hardworking and dedicated team who genuinely care about the impact they have and how they can better the lives of the families they serve. Being here has opened so many doors for me and helped me discover future career paths I am enthusiastic about. This experience has inspired me even more, and I can’t wait to continue furthering my education in early childhood education.”
April Darringer, JWCC’s chair and assistant professor of early childhood education, sees the partnership with PACT as the beginning of a pipeline of providers and teachers ready to meet the needs of the region.
In the future more JWCC students will observe PACT staff as part of their program’s observation and clinical requirements.
“We are excited to partner with PACT Early Head Start and to have a high-quality early learning program right on our campus,” Darringer said. “This partnership allows our students to literally walk down the hall to observe children in authentic classroom settings, plan and implement engaging learning experiences, and collaborate directly with experienced early childhood educators. These embedded, hands-on experiences strengthen students’ foundational skills and deepen their understanding of how to effectively support young learners in center-based programs as they progress through their coursework.
