BC’s Bill & Julia May Children’s Center celebrates 20 years with fun and games

Tom Wilbeck of Tom’s Fun Band, right, performs during the Bill & Julia May Children’s Center 20-year anniversary celebration at Brazosport College.

这是二十多年前,当铲挖into soil to begin the process of building a childcare facility on the Brazosport College campus. Today, that facility — the Bill & Julia May Children’s Center at Brazosport College — has not only been meeting the needs of the BC student body, faculty and staff for more than 20 years, it’s also become one of the premier childcare facilities in the area.

After two decades of service, there is plenty of love and loyalty toward the May Children’s Center, and this was obvious by the turnout for the facility’s recent 20-year anniversary celebration at Brazosport College.

More than 120 current and former students, along with their families, participated in the event, which honored the Center’s history through food, fun and music.

“Although we had some rain, we still had a great turnout and everyone had a good time,” said May Children’s Center Director Christine Webster. “We had some games, a photo booth, face painting, a picnic on our patio and a music performance by Tom from Tom’s Fun Band. Most of all, however, it was fun for everyone to socialize and reminisce about their experiences here.”

The participants at the 20-year celebration ranged from current students to Children’s Center staff and alumni who all have fond memories of when the facility opened.

The origin of the May Children’s Center began in 1999 when the Brazosport College Foundation launched Phase I of its “Building a Legacy” campaign, which called for the development of a children’s center, a corporate learning center and a performance hall on the Brazosport College campus.

After a groundbreaking in April of 2001, the building was officially opened and dedicated in late 2002 as The Children’s Center at Brazosport College. The building was renamed the Bill & Julia May Children’s Center at Brazosport College five years later.

Over time, the May Children’s Center has become known as one of the top childcare facilities in Brazoria County. It’s earned a prestigious accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and has met all the requirements of the Texas Rising Star Program of the State of Texas. The program operates at the highest level—a 4 Star.

“We are more than a childcare center,” Webster said. “We specialize in both childcare and early education, and I believe that helps us stand out. We have more teachers in our classrooms than you typically see in a childcare facility. We use a curriculum with an assessment program and assess our students four times a year. So, parents can ask for a parent conference whenever they want to and see how their child is growing and learning.”

Additionally, the May Children’s Center offers internships for students in Brazosport College’s Early Childhood Development program, providing a place for nursing students to observe children’s behavior as they work through their Pediatric course.

The May Children’s Center has also proven to be a desirable place to work, as evidenced by the fact that four people from the original staff continue to teach at the facility today. Assistant director Karen Hall, as well as Hilda Leyva, Mary Norris and Barbara Sue Green, were all among the Center’s first employees. All four employees were at the 20-year celebration sharing stories with many of their former students.

The Bill & May Children’s Center is open 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. For more information, call (979) 230-3463.

Bill & Julia May Children Center employees, from left, Rachel Alexander, Karen Hall, Barbara Sue Green and Christine Webster pose for a photo during the Center’s recent. 20-year anniversary celebration at Brazosport College.

Bill & Julia May Children’s Center employee Mary Norris, right, gets her face painted during the Center’s recent 20-year anniversary celebration at Brazosport College.