{"id":22988,"date":"2025-06-20T17:36:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T22:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/?p=22988"},"modified":"2025-06-20T17:36:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T22:36:04","slug":"little-angels-learning-center-unveils-new-5-7-million-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/2025\/06\/20\/little-angels-learning-center-unveils-new-5-7-million-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Angels Learning Center Unveils New $5.7 Million Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction to Little Angels Learning Center<\/h2>\n

ENGLEWOOD \u2014 The leader of an early learning center cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art building this month and hopes to welcome a cohort of children to the building by next year. Nashone Greer-Adams has served generations of Englewood\u2019s children from a single room at Alpha Temple Church, 6701 S. Emerald Ave.<\/p>\n

About the Center<\/h2>\n

Greer-Adams\u2019 early education services at Little Angels Learning Center provide personalized social, emotional and academic support to kids 6 weeks to 5 years old. The Englewood center offers wraparound programs for parents to \u201cservice the family as a whole,\u201d said Greer-Adams, the center\u2019s executive director. After years of operating in cramped quarters, Greer-Adams has a new, 15,000-square-foot home where she can lead the next generation of South Side students.<\/p>\n

New Facilities<\/h2>\n

Mayor Brandon Johnson was one of many to join Greer-Adams earlier this month at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $5.7 million Little Angels Learning Center, 6704 S. Emerald St. The new center sits across the street from the church where Greer-Adams currently runs the Englewood program. The new Little Angels Learning Center has a therapeutic space \u201cthat will accommodate our friends as they\u2019re coming in and having a meltdown or dealing with the unfortunate trauma that plagues our community,\u201d Greer-Adams said. Each classroom \u2014 an upgrade from the single room the center operates in now \u2014 has a bathroom and saltwater tanks for fish because it\u2019s \u201cvery therapeutic to have pets,\u201d Greer-Adams said.
\nA classroom at Little Angels Learning Center in Englewood. Credit:<\/span> City of Chicago<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional Features<\/h2>\n

The center has indoor and outdoor gross motor movement rooms and a Robert R. McCormick Parent Resource Center where educators can connect with parents in a dedicated space. Staff can recharge and \u201cget fresh air\u201d in the staff lounge, complete with a balcony that overlooks the community.<\/p>\n

History of Little Angels<\/h2>\n

Greer-Adams opened Little Angels in 1994 near the Parkway Gardens apartment complex on 64th Street and King Drive. Years later, she relocated to Alpha Temple Church, where she built a reputation for operating a thriving early learning center. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel awarded Greer-Adams $1.4 million in 2018 to expand Little Angels and serve more children on the South Side as part of the city\u2019s efforts to boost access to early learning across the district.<\/p>\n

Challenges Faced by the Center<\/h2>\n

But just a year later, in 2019, the city cut Little Angels\u2019 funding by more than 30 percent, devastating leaders at the care center. An extension was put in place but ran out in June 2020. Little Angels faced another setback in July 2020 when the city\u2019s Department of Family and Support Services forced the center to shut down after failing to meet the academic requirements necessary to remain open. Families and staff camped outside of then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot\u2019s home, demanding answers. The center reopened by 2021 to continue serving families.<\/p>\n

Funding and Support<\/h2>\n

Closing a funding gap was the biggest hurdle to opening the new center, Greer-Adams said. Leaders at Little Angels received a $250,000 community development grant in 2023 to go toward building the Englewood campus. The city grant \u201cwas huge for us,\u201d and combined with the estimated $3.9 million Little Angels received in grants from the city and state between 2019 and 2020, it brought the center closer to its financial goal. But there was still a $2 million construction gap, Greer-Adams said.
\n\"ExecutiveExecutive Director Nashone Greer-Adams speaks at Little Angels Learning Center, 6701 S. Emerald Ave., in Englewood on Jan. 13, 2022. Credit:<\/span> Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/span><\/p>\n

Community Support<\/h2>\n

Then the support started to pour in. Donations from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust \u201ccame in and helped save the day,\u201d Greer-Adams said. Funding from the McCormick Foundation and CME Group also supported a $500,000 gap in Little Angel\u2019s programming budget to bring on two mental health consultants and a family support specialist to the campus. UJAMAA Construction helped build out the space because the Chicago-founded construction firm \u201cwanted to see our program come alive and believed in our vision,\u201d Greer-Adams said.<\/p>\n

Future Plans<\/h2>\n

With the Little Angels center complete, the next step is launching a fundraiser to close the gap in the programming budget, Greer-Adams said. Many of the previous grants the center received to support its initiatives will expire in 15-18 months, she said.
\n\"\"Braylen Williams listens as Mrs. Renee Hayden reads \u201cA Bedtime for Bear\u201d before nap time at Little Angels Learning Center, 6701 S. Emerald Ave., in Englewood on Jan. 13, 2022. Credit:<\/span> Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

The new Little Angels Learning Center is a state-of-the-art facility that will provide high-quality early learning experiences to children in the Englewood community. Despite facing numerous challenges, the center has received significant support from the community, including donations and grants. With the center complete, the next step is to launch a fundraiser to close the gap in the programming budget<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction to Little Angels Learning Center ENGLEWOOD \u2014 The leader of an early learning center cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art building this month and hopes to welcome a cohort of children to the building by next year. Nashone Greer-Adams has served generations of Englewood\u2019s children from a single room at Alpha Temple Church, 6701 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/bcc-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Gsx-fYzWwAEXBh1.jpeg?w=1920&resize=1920,1280&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22988"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22988"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22990,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22988\/revisions\/22990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}