By Rob Herbst The Catholic Week
MOBILE – St. Ignatius Parish in Mobile took another step in its transformation on May 23.
Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi blessed the grounds on a state-of-the-art Early Learning Center preschool facility during a groundbreaking ceremony. The construction of a new ELC is another phase in the parish’s five-year “Building Something Beautiful for God” campaign, which was initiated by a new $16.5 million church that was dedicated in April 2021 and is fully paid off.
The new ELC is expected to cost about $4.5 million, have the capacity to serve 250 children and be open in August 2025.
The ELC will allow pre-K classrooms to be consolidated into one building.
“Under the new building, we will all be one cohesive unit,” said Early Learning Center Director Dr. Kathy Wilkins-Jones. “The ability to collaborate within each grade level and to make sure we have continuity from one grade to the next will be made easier by being under one roof.
According to Wilkins-Jones, each classroom will educate 15 students with two teachers. The ELC Preschool will contain two sections of 1K and four sections each of 2K, 3K and 4K classrooms.
Other additions include View Sonic interactive boards, a sound field system to ensure optimal auditory signals, a document camera, classroom cameras, advanced safety locks and features, custom lockers and other aesthetic touches.
In addition to the 14 classrooms, the facility will include a covered outdoor seating area with accessible bathrooms.