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When Deirdre Niblock sets her mind to a task it is a sure bet she'll succeed. A
high school honors grad at sixteen, a double major at Howard University and a
small business owner in her twenties, Niblock is the epitome of American
ambition and success. So when she decided to open her own early childhood
learning facility she needed financial partners with as much vision as she.
"I wrote my business plan and started to look for financing for my dream school,
" Niblock said. Unfortunately, she ran into a few snags. She first turned to a
local organization that helps small businesses with financing options, but she
found that process ineffectual. Next she tried traditional banks, but was
frustrated that they were unwilling to loan the amount of money her project
required. She decided she needed an SBA loan and a recommendation led her to BCI
Lending.
Niblock was pleasantly surprised by the welcome interest the team at BCI Lending
showed for her proposal. Niblock needed funds to purchase property, finance
renovations and up fit her new school with everything from desks and bulletin
boards to computers and kitchen equipment.
"Right from the beginning they understood my business plan," Niblock said. "I'm
sure they checked me out and made sure I was for real. Then Larry Jones said,
'Go find your property.'
BCI Lending walked the first site with Niblock and advised her that it wasn't a
suitable spot for the school. She kept looking until she found the Covenant Road
location, a vacant property that had housed two previous private schools. The
existing structures sitting side-by-side atop a rise made the property ideal and
although it needed work, its location within city limits meant Niblock qualified
for business startup assistance from local government.
Niblock purchased the property, hired an architect and contractor to renovate
the facilities and in 2005, the Center for Learning opened the Education
Building.
"I started with seventeen students and within ten months I had one hundred and
twenty-six students for the second term. That's an increase of more than six
hundred percent in less than a year," Niblock, now director, said with pride.
"Staff also increased in that time from eight to my current twenty-seven." Next
came the Administration Building in 2006.
"Administration houses our offices, conference room, computer lab, dining hall,
kitchen and two classrooms," Niblock said. "Our student population continued to
grow and in 2008 we opened the Academy Building which now houses kindergarten
through third grade.
"We have people who drive their children here from Elgin, Sumter and Chapin.
There is always a need for high quality early education. I do no advertising. I
get all my students through word-of-mouth," Niblock said. Although the Center
for Learning takes children as young as one year-old, they are most decidedly
not a daycare. The Center for Learning has a regular forty-week program for the
academy (kindergarten through third), a fifty-one week program for child
development students (one to four year-olds) and summer enrichment camps that
focus on everything from the culinary arts to financial planning, pottery to
horticulture.
"We have quality early childhood learning programs for all our students, no
matter their age. And we recognize that all not all children learn in the same
way," Niblock explained. "So we teach through auditory, visual and kinesthetic
means."
The Center for Learning's approach is based on traditional rote instruction,
positive reinforcement, discipline and respect.
The director calls all the children, "My babies." She says she understands her
students. "I know their brothers and sisters, their mothers and fathers, their
grandma and grandpa. I know what their favorite color is and I know their
birthdays. I know every student's talents and their challenges. Every child is
wonderful in their own way."
The cheerful classrooms of happy-faced students are testament to the
effectiveness of the Center for Learning's approaches and policies. Children
jump to behave when they see the director coming. She has their attention and
their respect. "Students thrive with good boundaries," the director said.
In the Administration Building Niblock points to a sign that reads BCI Lending
Conference Room.
"When we moved in BCI Lending donated much needed office furniture to the
school. They have been so good to me all through the process. When I had cash
flow issues they provided a loan increase to help with contractor overruns. And
now, I'm happy to say things are flowing just fine."
With student population hovering near the capacity of one hundred and
seventy-five, Niblock is looking to expand by purchasing adjacent property on
the Covenant Road site, which would bring the campus up to nearly five acres.
She also has plans to open two new early education facilities in the Columbia
area-one in Blythewood that caters to one and two-year-olds and a second in
Sandhills that will handle three-year-olds up to first grade. Why such an
unusual mix of services? Niblock is responding to market needs.
"I once owned a marketing research firm in Virginia, so I understand market
demands. I looked at the school offerings around Columbia and found a real need
for these specialized services in these area," Niblock said.
As she expands, Niblock intends to keep her strong relationship with BCI
Lending.
"They were and continue to be encouraging," she said. "They didn't just remove
monetary roadblocks for me, but they have also provided a lot of good advice on
things like lawyers and taxes. They understand how a business can be successful
and how a business can fail. They're experienced."
Just like Niblock sees the potential in all her students, BCI Lending saw the
potential in her. "They recognized my dream," she said. "They are the best lending company you can
do business with."
More information on the Center for Learning can be found at www.cflinc.net
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