On June 12, Diane Pappacoda invites members of the Branford Early Learning Center (BELC) extended family to help celebrate the grand opening of BELC’s new, imagination-igniting playground. The event, which will include special guests and local community leaders, is set to take place Sunday, June 12 from noon to 3 p.m.

“We’d love to have all of our families and alumni come and share our dream with us!” says Diane.

After years of making do with an aging swing set and slide (both removed for safety reasons), followed by piecing together play areas with second-hand climbing elements and playhouses, this month’s installation of BELC’s state-of-the-art playground equipment is “a dream come true,” says Diane.

One area is for tiny tots while the main playground is for kids aged 2 to 5. The big kids’ area invites interactive play on features including a saucer-shaped spinner, a rocket ship control center, a rock climbing element, a multi-seated teeter-totter, a central slide and climbing castle, swings, and more.

Diane says it may look like those excited kids climbing all over the colorful equipment are simply having a good time, but the new elements are actually adding to kids’ daily learning experiences.

“The teachers and I designed the playground, making sure all the requirements we needed for our children were incorporated,” says Diane of the elements the staff chose to have installed. She says those requirements include, “fine and large motor development, places to explore and use imagination, quiet and active areas, and social areas to promote emotional strength and friendships.”

The new playground equipment was purchased using a $95,000 state grant, which Diane authored.

“Our playground has been a dream of mine, and our teachers, for many years,” Diane says. “When the state opened up a bond grant, it was time to make our dream a reality!”

Diane’s especially grateful to Branford first selectman’s assistant Trista Milici for helping navigate the grant-writing process.

“Trista went over the grant line by line with me, and taught me how to complete the grant,” says Diane. “Without her, the grant wouldn’t have been completed.”

Diane also thanks First Selectman James B. Cosgrove, Branford Parks & Recreation Director Alex Palluzzi, Branford Building Manager Otto Berger, and Public Works Director Tom Brennan and his crew for their support. She also credits BELC’s Board of Directors, BELC’s teaching staff of 30, and BELC parents who helped with everything from moving equipment to readying the grounds.

Diane has been a member of the BELC family for 30 years and was named BELC director two years ago, after long-time director Beryl Meiner retired. She praises Meiner for instilling BELC’s philosophy of providing a “safe, loving environment and a place where learning is fun—the perfect foundation for a life and love of learning,” says Diane, adding, “I started out as a teacher when my daughter was going here. I was going to be here one year...and here I am, 30 years later! I never left. I just love this place.”

Diane and her husband, Nick, raised their son and daughter in Branford and are now enjoying being grandparents. Speaking of the next generation, Diane says a sign of BELC’s success is that many former students return as parents to enroll their own children.

“Our BELC family continues to grow as we now have children of children—and a few grandchildren, also,” says Diane.

BELC’s reputation has many residents hoping for a spot to open up for their child, and Diane’s excited to share that the next big addition to the school is in the works, an additional “baby room” to take in more of BELC’s youngest members. Currently, 18 wait-listed Branford families are hoping to send their child there.

Teacher retention is high at BELC and Diane says BELC alumni parents are often pleasantly surprised to find their favorite teacher is still teaching (she also notes one of BELC’s current teachers was once a BELC student). Diane easily keeps tabs on former students by taking up dozens of invitations to see them perform as athletes, in dance recitals, at musical shows and more, right up to bridal showers, weddings, and baby showers. BELC’s welcoming walls also attract teenaged alumni who come back to visit and share milestones.

“I think it’s because this was such a special place for them,” says Diane. “We have a lot who do their community service here, or they’ll stop in just to show us they got their driver’s license! Our teachers go to every [high school] graduation...We really are like family.”

For 42 years now, BELC has been a huge part of growing up in Branford. The non-profit town agency is funded by the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood and provides sliding scale fees based on family incomes.

“We are also a School Readiness Program that provides preschool to children so they’ll be prepared for success in kindergarten and in life,” Diane explains.

The pre-school and day care building on Birch Road (former Pine Orchard School) is leased from the town for an annual $1 fee and currently is filled to capacity with more than 50 children, from babies up to pre-K. The program also provides a nutritional breakfast, lunch, and snack daily.

BELC is accredited by National Association for the Education of Young Children. Diane notes the school not only follows Connecticut Early Learning Development Standards, but has extended the curriculum further.

“Our teachers have developed and written the curriculum to better teach our children in developmentally appropriate ways through play, lessons, experiments, and creativity in calm, loving atmosphere,” she says.

Diane is also a board member of Branford Early Childhood Collaborative (BECC). She’s a huge fan of the great growth BECC has fostered among the community’s young learners, and those who teach and guide them. Diane says BECC’s monthly roundtable meetings have become a place where all of Branford’s early learning professionals can collaborate, network, and develop to benefit the children and families they serve. She co-chairs the roundtable meetings with Stephanie Link, director of the Child Development Center in Branford, and praises BECC Director Robin Comey and Program Coordinator Jennifer Kelly for providing “fun, educational workshops for teachers and directors.

“Because of the Roundtables, town pre-schools are working together to provide support for each other,” says Diane, adding it helps all to provide the best fit for families and to share goals for educating Branford’s young children.

For Diane, there’s no better place to meet those goals than by sharing her days with the families, children, teachers, and other community members interacting at BELC.

“I love my job, my teachers, my families and my children,” says Diane. “Every day brings new joy, as I watch friendships being made, creativity blossoming, and knowledge being learned through play. A walk through our hallways shows our projects, but I also feel the love, dedication, patience, and fun that our children acquire.”