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Long Beach First Lady Nancy Foster took time out to share thoughts, stories and steamed veggies with children at the Long Beach Day Nursery on Chestnut Ave. last Thursday.  Foster paid the center a visit to learn about the Day Nursery’s history and operations in preparation for the nursery's May event which will honor the First Lady and the Long Beach Rotary.  Foster said she was very pleased to see the children happy and learning at such a young age.

“Today has been a great chance to come to the Day Nursery after hearing so much about it,” Foster said.  “How it’s helping small children and families – it’s priceless.  They’re just so happy.”

The Nursery teaches social skills to children – aged six months to five years – in an area where the service is not readily available.  Over 90% of the children attend the Day Nursery thanks to California public education subsidies, which kick in when a family makes less than 75% of the average median income for a family of four.  With public education budget cuts looming on the horizon, Day Nursery director Patrice Wong fears that over one-third of her students will no longer be able to attend.

But today, the children were cheery and glad to be sharing their rice and ground beef lunch with visitors.  Wong says that she has heard from local schools that it is easy to tell between the children who attended centers like Day Nursery before kindergarten and those that did not.

“The school prepares children for social situations, like taking turns and following directions,” Wong said.  “Things that are more important than the alphabet or numbers.”

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