Project Profile: Boston Square Early Learning Center
When Community Drives Collaborative Change: Boston Square’s Early Learning Center
Written by Insiya Rasiwala | Photography by Isabel Lopez Slattery
Read the full story below.
This is the story of the Boston Square Early Learning Center (BSQ-ELC) operated by the Refugee Education Center, a project driven by purposeful collaboration. Partners—including a non-profit developer, community organizations, an education center for refugees and immigrants, and Natural Pod, an ethical learning furniture company—came together to provide high-quality early childcare in a historically disinvested Grand Rapids neighborhood.
The BSQ-ELC is a vital component of the larger $25 million Boston Square Community Hub, a project founded on principles of diversity, equity, and access. Natural Pod’s commitment to sustainable and healthy learning environments, with nature-inspired design, was a vital aspect of this vision. By bringing the beauty of the outdoors inside with organic shapes and natural materials, Natural Pod’s furniture was a conscious choice to deliver on the community’s desire for a truly nurturing, safe, and equitable space right in the neighborhood, built on a foundation to last for generations to come.
An educator and child at the welcoming entrance at the Refugee Education Center’s Boston Square Early Learning Center.
A young learner by a Natural Pod Reach Table and Steady Chair.
A young learner at open-ended play by a Natural Pod Evergreen Shelf.
An educator and young child exploring under 2 Natural Pod Play Stands.
An educator and young learner exploring balance on a Natural Pod Imagine Infant Ramp and Platform.
Steady Chairs and a Reach Table, with two Play Stands behind them, create a welcoming environment.
A learner focused on play, supported by Natural Pod Evergreen Shelves.
A Pre-K Learner happily seated on a Share Bench at a Reach Table.
A young learner exploring in the Imagine Play Nook.
Playing "shop" under two Imagine Play Stands.
The Natural Pod Play Stand Kitchen brightens this young learner's imaginative play.
Why Communities Need High-Quality Childcare, and Why it’s a Complex Undertaking.
For IFF, a non-profit real estate developer, which began a needs assessment here in 2017, this project fills a gap in the market that for-profit developers won’t touch – how to create a community-focused model for building and financing high-quality childcare facilities. It’s a mission that hits home for Senior Project Manager Rick Raleigh, both professionally and personally.
“Access to childcare is a major differentiation between folks who can work and support their families and those who can’t because they don’t have access to care. It’s a workforce issue. It’s an economic issue. If we can take care of these children, that means that families can take care of themselves. They can be in the workforce and contribute economically. Studies estimate that every dollar invested in childcare yields a return of $7 to $13 in long term economic benefits.”
—Rick Raleigh, Senior Project Manager, IFF
Rick is also energized by his own personal experience as a dad to four young children.
“It’s very easy for me to see my own family in the children and families REC serves and I want to make sure they are getting the very best in terms of an early learning facility. That, and the relationships we’ve been able to build with our providers, give me the passion for this work.”
—Rick Raleigh, IFF
The project was a multi-year effort that faced many challenges, including a previous provider falling through, numerous design iterations, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the setbacks, IFF remained committed to the neighborhood and selected Refugee Education Center (REC) as the childcare provider after an extensive RFP (Request for Proposal) process.
IFF Communications Manager Thomas Marcetti echoed this sense of purpose. He highlighted the often-overlooked heroes of the early childhood sector and shared a powerful story of an educator whose impact was so significant in her neighborhood, that families were making decisions to have children, if she had space for them.
“That’s how vital the role of childcare is to a community’s economic and social fabric,” he concluded, “That is not just work, it is a calling.”
—Thomas Marcetti, Communications Manager, IFF
REC: Where Cultural Responsiveness, Diversity and Equity Thrive.
It’s a sentiment shared by Meg Derrer, Chief Executive Officer of Refugee Education Center. Founded in 2006 by refugees who saw the need for refugee children to gain a meaningful education in their new home, REC’s inclusive approach to early childhood education has served both American-born and refugee children, supporting their development and ensuring access to high-quality, culturally responsive education.
At their core, both IFF and REC value working with the community, not just for them. This meant engaging local stakeholders in every step of the process, including selecting the furniture and even the center’s name, to ensure the space is welcoming to all families.
Meg describes the four neighborhood listening sessions that connected REC to key stakeholders.
“We invited neighbors in, provided dinner, and asked a lot of questions because we wanted to co-create this Center with them. We asked them about the hours of the Center. They helped us name the Center, and even helped select the logo and how they wanted the Center to feel.”
—Meg Derrer, Chief Executive Officer, REC
What did the community want? Boston Square neighbors overwhelmingly emphasized a connection to nature and the outdoors. This feedback became a guiding principle for the project’s design.
Choosing Furniture that Supports a Vision for Natural, Open-Ended Learning.
When it came time to furnish the center, the partners sought a company whose values aligned with their own. IFF’s Rick Raleigh, who recommended Natural Pod, understood that the physical environment is a “third teacher” and that the right furniture could transform the space.
Natural Pod’s open-ended, nature-inspired, furniture solutions aligned seamlessly with the project’s values.
Alicia Sanchez-Harmon, Center Director for the BSQ-ELC confirmed the pedagogical value of this choice. She spoke of how the furniture’s natural, muted tones would foster focus and support open-ended play, which she believes is the “highest form of quality in education for young children.” For her and her team, the furniture serves as a canvas, allowing simple, natural elements to become powerful educational tools.
“We are a neighborhood school in the heart of the city, and a lot of children don’t have access to natural playscapes, so we’re bringing nature into the school. We use open-ended materials, for example a block can be used for many different things, not just as a toy phone, which invites open-ended play and is a good extension of the classroom.”
—Alicia Sanchez-Harmon, Center Director for the BSQ-ELC
Natural Pod furniture elements, like the Play Stand and Nook, are designed to support this philosophy of open-ended play, where a child’s imagination, not the toy’s fixed purpose, guides the experience.
The Play Stand, with its graceful arches and minimalist design, can become a market stall, a puppet theater, or a cozy hideout. Similarly, the Nook’s organic shape and natural materials invite children to transform it into a reading corner, a quiet den, or part of a larger, imaginary world. This approach, which prioritizes a child’s curiosity and agency, empowers them to explore, problem-solve, and develop a deeper connection to their learning environment.
“I really like Natural Pod’s soft edges because it is more inviting and calming,” continues Alicia, adding that this approach aligns with her personal design philosophy, and supports her goals in bringing more biophilic (nature-inspired) design into the spaces.
The choice has proven to be a positive one. Visitors touring the new facility inevitably comment on the furniture’s beauty, but more importantly, its calming and peaceful aspect, affirming the educators’ hope to start each day on a serene note.
What the Future Holds: Expanding Community
The Boston Square Early Learning Center is quickly seeding itself as a hub in this revitalized community. Over half of the teaching staff are refugees, and as a team, they speak eight different languages, including Kinyarwanda, French, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic, and Dutch.
The team shares that this diversity is crucial for creating a place where children and their families can feel comfortable and safe.
“Our vision for this Center is to create a culturally inclusive learning environment that honors each child’s identity and fosters values of respect, belonging, and acceptance of differences.”
—Meg Derrer, REC
BSQ-ELC also aims to be a national model for excellence within the Purpose Built Communities network, moving beyond local service to create a replicable framework for others.
Ensuring access for all children through its braided tuition model, offering free slots and a tiered, sliding-scale tuition, Meg and her team are clear that the first five years of a child’s life are vital and that the imprint they make on these children can make a big difference in their city and others who find inspiration in this model.
Natural Pod is honored to be a part of this groundbreaking, purpose-driven project, whose impact will extend far beyond the center’s walls.
