About Us
"If a child can't learn the way we teach, we will teach the way they learn." -Ignacio Estrada
Philosophy
Happy House provides a well-balanced education program based on the philosophy of teaching the “whole child”. Teaching practices promote self-esteem, good hygiene, respect for themselves and others as well as cognitive, motor skills and language development. The classroom environment is conducive to promoting developmentally appropriate activities that will capture a child’s interest and motivate curiosity. Our philosophy includes the belief that each child has something positive to contribute to the world.
History
Happy House was established in 1967 as a Kindergarten to serve socio-economically disadvantaged children in the Lake City community. Two churches, the First Methodist and the First Baptist Church provided space in which these early classes were held.
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In 1971, we built our own facility on city-owned property located on Lake Jeffery Road. Classes ran mornings and only during the school calendar year. The establishment of our County's public kindergarten changed the emphasis of our program to include childcare.
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In the Fall of 1973, we enrolled twenty children, ages 3-5 from various income levels and extended our hours of operation to 7AM-5:30PM five days a week. By 1981, our community's need for a preschool was so great that we sought and won a State of Florida grant, which matched equally by private donations, allowed us to double our size. Enrollment increased to 70 children!
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Happy House, Inc. achieved National Accreditation in 1993, to become one of the first NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) accredited centers in north Florida.
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In 1997, after a major fundraising drive, a third building was completed. We opened our doors and hearts to an additional 74 children and expanded the age range to include infants and toddlers.
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With a waiting list of almost 500 children, the decision was made to open a pre-kindergarten building for our preschool children. In August of 2003, our fourth building was opened to 72 children ages 4-5 years old. Happy House now enrolls up to 250 children, ages 6 weeks old to age 12.
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"Happy House" got its name in 1967 back when the Board of Directors used to go around picking up children, and they stopped by a girl's house to pick her up for the day and the mom said she couldn't go. The little girl said: "I want to go back to the 'happy house!'".
