Colorado State University student parents with children enrolled at the Early Childhood Center helped make CSU President Tony Frank’s Homecoming extra special: The families rode on a float pulled by a truck driven by Frank in the CSU Homecoming parade on Oct. 17.

The CSU Early Childhood Center is the lab school for the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, and has been a training site for CSU students since 1929. The ECC is open year-round and provides high-quality early childhood experiences for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.

“The ECC is a great example of how parents are supported at CSU,”ECC Executive Director Karen Rattenborg said. “Whether they are CSU student parents, or CSU faculty and staff, the ECC provides a high-quality setting for children that both supports child development and allows parents to be productive in their studies and their work. We are delighted to partner with President Tony Frank on this float, just as we are delighted to partner with parents on a daily basis.”

Many student families are recipients of child care tuition subsidies provided by the Child Care Access Means Parent in School (CCAMPIS) grant through the U.S. Department of Education. Families also receive funding support through a generous donation from the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation.

Along with the student families on the float were ECC teachers and CSU alumni Allison Horsch and Rachel Chapin. Both Horsch and Chapin have bachelor’s degrees in HDFS and master’s degrees from the School of Education. ECC Director Barbara Benn and ECC Executive Director Karen Rattenborg also rode on the float.