Campbell Early Childhood Center serves preschool age children in the Springfield Public School’s Wonder Years Early Childhood Department.
We are a close-knit community dedicated to the safety, belonging, and development of our students. We believe that connections and relationships are the foundation of our work. It is our goal that ALL feel welcome and valued at Campbell.
Mission: Our purpose is to inspire the whole child to be lifelong learners using play-based and differentiated opportunities in an inclusive environment.
Vision: Providing high-quality childhood experiences to educate the whole child, helping them achieve their highest potential.
Commitments:
We commit to continuous reflection and improvement, consistently seeking ways to enhance the quality of the early childhood experiences we offer.
We commit to creating a safe and stimulating learning environment that encourages exploration, creativity, and curiosity.
We commit to fostering strong partnerships with families, recognizing that their involvement is essential in a child's holistic development.
We commit to creating a nurturing and inclusive environment that values each child's unique abilities, backgrounds, and experiences.
We commit to promoting a love for learning and a growth mindset that empowers children to embrace challenges and persevere in their educational journey.
Our team thrives in our environment by adhering to a set of Cultural Commitments.
High-Quality Early Childhood Educators who are
Encouragers: Everyone’s #1 job is to help others succeed.
Allied: Communicate “You Matter”
Responsible: See the problem, own the problem.
Trust Worthy: Honor the Absent.
CAMPBELL COUGARS are...
Safe Keepers
Helpers
Problem Solvers
Campbell History
Campbell School 1934
About John Polk Campbell
Nine years after Missouri became a state, John Polk Campbell came by horseback from Tennessee. He crossed the southwest area of the state to a prairie occupied by Kickapoo Indians. On a forested elevation, he found a natural well. He liked the surroundings and the climate. After camping a few days, Campbell carved his initials, JPC, on an ash tree and returned to Maury County, Tennessee, for his family. When Campbell came back the next year he found A J. Burnett and his family living in a cabin near the ash tree bearing Campbell's initials. Burnett graciously relinquished the ash tree, land, and his cabin to Campbell. The Burnetts then built another cabin on the north side of Olive Street between Boonville and Robberson avenues.
[Fairbanks and Tuck: Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri]
CAMPBELL SCHOOL
1884: Originally known as "Fourth Ward" at Grant Ave and Mt. Vernon. It was originally built at a cost of $9100. The original brick building housed four rooms. [source 1]
1890: An addition of 4 rooms heated by wood stoves was added at the cost of $6,632. [source 1] [source 2]
1892: School catches fire from a bad flue. When the fire department reached the building, the flames had been almost extinguished by parties who formed a bucket brigade. [source 3]
1929: Students write essays to voters declaring the need to replace their old school building claiming it to be a "fire trap". [source 4]
1930: The new 28,217 sq. ft. school building was designed by architect William B. Ittner and completed at a total cost of $173,681. The new building boasted 11 classrooms and a multi-purpose room. [source 5]
1931: The building was dedicated on the 26th of January, 1931. The building opened for the second-semester term of the same year. School board president, Barbour, spoke and declared "This is your building. It will be here long after all of us here tonight shall be gone. It will continue to build up character, and cultivate citizenship, and will achieve a work far outvaluing the dollars and cents that have been spent in its construction." [source 2]
1931: Shortly after students helped move into the new building, the old building was razed. [source 6] [source 7]
1988: Addition of a Learning Resource Center and 1 classroom which added an additional 4,951 sq.ft.
2017-2018: Campbell Elementary hosted its last year of students as a PK-5th grade elementary school.
2018-2019: The building was repurposed as an Early Childhood Center with a capacity to serve 200 early childhood students.
The original Campbell building. Estimated date of photo 1888. The original Campbell school had but four rooms, having been built in two sections. The second four rooms were added in 1890.
Campbell School in 1914. This image shows the original structure after the addition was built in 1890.
Campbell archives indicate that as early as 1928, preschool students were served. This was generations before the federal push to serve young students came about in the mid-1960s.
Campbell School Yard 1925
"Let us exalt them above industry, above business, above politics, and above all the petty, selfish things that weaken and destroy people. Let us know that the [human] race moves forward through its children." Former Campbell PTA President, Mrs. Jim Vanderhoof