After a couple of recent contentious meetings of the Petal Board of Aldermen – when several residents from Yellow Pine Drive came to voice their opposition to possible traffic issues – a new daycare is headed to the Friendly City some time this summer.
Danielle Beard, owner of Panther’s Den Learning Center in Hattiesburg in the former Howard’s Christian Center, is set to bring a second location to 1090 Mississippi 42, across from Herrington Road off the highway.
“I wanted to bring it to Petal to start with – that was my intention, to open my first center in Petal,” Beard said. “But after looking into different buildings, Howard’s Christian Center closed down and I bought it from the owner, and that’s how I ended up in Hattiesburg.
“I’ve been (in Hattiesburg) for a year, and just the need for it in Petal, I wanted to go ahead and pursue the opportunity to bring it to Petal. So here we are.”
If all goes according to plan, the new day care will open in late July or early August.
According to the organization’s website, www.pantherslearningcenter.com, the site is dedicated to helping children develop positive relationships by wondering, discovering and interacting with other children. Panther’s Learning Center promotes creativity, teamwork, self control and self expression.
The Petal location will offer much of the same services as does the Hattiesburg facility, including an Infants’ Learning Den, Toddlers’ Learning Den, Two Year Olds’ Learning Den, Three Year Old’s Learning Den and a Pre-K Learning Den. Some of the objectives of those programs are as follows:
- Infants’ Learners Den: Children able to roll over, grasp with both hand, focus and reach for objects, experiment with sounds and babbling and begin to develop problem-solving skills.
- Toddlers’ Learning Den: Children able to stack blocks or toys, walk without help, pointing to objects when named, name familiar objects in books and show curiosity about new things.
- Two Year Olds’ Learning Den: Children able to run, kick a ball, repeat words, attempt to sing songs, use objects as tools and take turns in conversation.
- Three Year Olds’ Learning Den: Children able to increase strength and stamina, point to body parts on self when named, communicate through scribbling, speak in longer sentences and make independent choices.
- Pre-K Learning Den: Children able to throw and catch balls, use pencils and markers, associate sounds with written words, and maintain concentration despite distractions.
“We service children from six weeks old to four (years) old,” Beard said. “I hope to eventually open up an after-school care for the Petal location, but of course that would maybe be a couple of years down the road.”
The Petal location will be helped along with a grant from the Petal School District Early Learning Collaborative, which supports area Pre-K efforts in the district.
Under the Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013, the costs for providing Pre-K services to 4-year-old children amount to $4,300 per child in full-day programs and $2,150 per child enrolled in half-day programs. The state of Mississippi provides half of these costs, but requires that the other half be provided by local matching funds, which may include local tax dollars, federal dollars as allowed or donations.
“The grant will be able to supply the children with new classroom equipment, a new playground, the curriculum,” Beard said. “It’s very helpful that we got the grant.
“We would not have even been able to open without it.”
Applications for online enrollment to the Petal center are now being accepted at www.pantherslearningcenter.com. Information on pricing and other matters can be obtained by emailing info@panthersdlc.com.
“For the first 30 days, I’m accepting for the school district, staff and teachers,” Beard said. “After 30 days, we’re going to open up to the public.
“I’m hoping we’ll have 87 spots (available).”
Within the last couple of weeks, several residents on and around Yellow Pine Drive – which is just off Mississippi 42 where the daycare will be located – have shown up to board meetings to voice concerns about potential traffic issues caused by the business. However, aldermen recently mandated a 10-foot prescribed buffer, with no traffic access to Yellow Pine Drive, as part of a zoning change to the appropriate commercial classification.
That includes barriers such as trees and other vegetation that will separate residents from the facility; the barrier will remain even if the property is sold or used for another purpose in the future.
“That was really the main concern, was the traffic coming onto Yellow Pine, and obviously that was a concern of ours, because we want to keep the sanctity of the neighborhood intact,” Mayor Tony Ducker said. “I feel as though there’s a need for a business of this nature, and this is a conversation that we’re going to continue to have as we grow.
“We want to really make sure that we are protecting the neighborhoods as much as possible, and make sure the encroachment is something everybody can live with. I think in this situation, we were able to do that, so I think it was really important to make sure there was buy-in from the neighborhood, the folks that will be dealing with it the most.”
