With paint-covered hands, students helped mark the future of the University of Mississippi’s Early Learning and Evaluation Center, leaving prints on a beam during a March 27 event for the $30 million-plus project slated to open in early 2027.
In addition to hard-hat-wearing students who left their prints behind, those in attendance were Ole Miss Chancellor Glenn Boyce and his wife Emily, Wille Price Lab School director Alyce Krouse, Ole Miss education dean David Rock, state Rep. Clay Deweese, state Sen. Nicole Boyd, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. The officials signed the middle of the beam and took time to speak to those in attendance.
“Every child deserves the support to reach their fullest potential. The new Early Learning and Evaluation Center at Ole Miss will help make that a reality,” Hosemann said while thanking all involved in the project.
Construction on the $32.8 million Early Learning and Evaluation Center began last June. The center will be operated by the UM School of Education and will house the university’s nationally accredited preschool, the Willie Price Lab School. It will also allow more children to receive developmental and auditory evaluations, increasing opportunities for early intervention services for those with learning disabilities or autism.
“It is my hope that Mississippi will be the national leader in serving youth with special needs, and this work is a key part of that vision,” Hosemann continued.
The two-story, 51,447-square-foot facility is being funded by a combination of state and federal funds, with the public university investing more than $21 million and another $10 million coming from the state legislature and $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Education.
Nearly 12,000 square feet of space inside the facility will be reserved for a sensory playroom, evaluation and observation rooms, and clinical information space. Other specifics include 10 technology-equipped preschool classrooms, two outdoor playgrounds, and a dining room.
Outside of early education opportunities, the Early Learning and Evaluation Center will aim to curb a nationwide shortage of board-certified behavior analysts trained to create treatment plans that help children with autism achieve positive behavioral changes. It will provide clinical practice opportunities for students in the UM schools of Education and Applied Sciences and the Department of Psychology who are learning to support children diagnosed with autism.
The center aims to achieve a university goal of housing its preschool and childhood evaluation center under one roof. Together, evaluation services and support for children with learning disabilities or autism will be streamlined, according to Krouse.
“Combining the preschool and evaluation center will allow students who require services to start required therapies sooner rather than having to wait for referrals and evaluations,” she said when the center was announced. “We are also looking forward to more collaboration between the classroom teachers and the evaluation center staff.”
The Early Learning and Evaluation Center is being constructed at the South Oxford Center, which currently is home to the UM Speech and Hearing Clinic. With the University of Mississippi Medical Center and other partners entwined in children’s evaluations, more efficient care is guaranteed by school officials.
It will also bring additional resources to the northern part of Mississippi, which as a region, is in “high need” of early intervention options as noted in the Children’s Foundation of Mississippi’s 2024 Kids Count Data Book.
Sen. Boyd, who represents Oxford and is the mother of a disabled child, sees the incoming center as having a positive impact statewide.
“We know that 90% of brain development happens before the age of 5, which is why early intervention and learning are so critical,” she said when the project was announced. “This new center is not just a building; it’s an investment in the future of Mississippi’s children and families, especially those navigating developmental delays or autism.
“For too many parents, finding quality care – particularly for children with autism or other developmental needs – is an almost impossible task, and this center offers real hope.”