Mount Washington Preschool Hopes to Address Excessive Noise

Anyone who has ever stepped inside a pre-school knows how loud they can get. However, the din inside Mount Washington's can became so booming that it's actually prevented its board of directors from making some long-desired educational advancements.

According to Pat Griffith, of the Mount Washington Preschool Board, Mount Washington Preschool and Child Care Centers (MWPCCC) operates La Casita Verde, an infant-Pre-K early childhood education center in the city-owned historic Ziegler Estate, a National Trust Historic Monument.

The preschool is run in an non-historic room located at the back of the building, which features a high ceiling and no sound buffers.

The noise, which reaches decibel levels high enough to be heard throughout the entire building, exceeds standards sets by the National Head Start preschool program, which MWPCCC is hoping to join.

Given the financial constraints faced by the state, MWPCCC said partnering with the federal program would allow La Casita Verde to provide better educational opportunities for students.

"We need to fix the acoustics in this room to meet acceptable standards," Griffith said.

Last Thursday evening, the contributed a $1,500 Neighborhood Purposes Grant toward MWPCCC's effort to address the excessive noise levels at La Casita Verde.

Griffith said that thanks to to the HPPNC's grant, along with $2,500 already granted by the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, MWPCCC can take the first step toward solving the problem.

"The first step is to define project and do acoustic testing," Griffith said. "We have now raised enough funds through substantial donations from both the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council and Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council to begin our testing and documentation phase of this project, but still have more doors to knock on to raise funds for the actual work."

Trisha Gossett, of the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, said that by helping to fund the La Casita Verde project, the board was making long term investment in the community.

"In my opinion to the board and to the community, I look at this as the ultimate investment in our community," Gossett said. "Their facility--it's just the gift that keeps on giving back for years. It's such a worthy investment."