IT ALL STARTED WHEN….

Launch Learning Preschool is a legacy program of Eastern Florida State College Lab School (formerly Brevard Community College Lab School). Dr. Barbara Young founded Lab School, a co-op preschool, in 1967 as a dynamic by-product of the early days of the Space Program. In the 1960’s, the Space Program at Cape Canaveral mobilized a huge work force of young families where job demands on husbands left considerable responsibilities of child rearing on the wives. Dr. Young, having a master’s degree in social work, a broad background in early childhood development, and seven children of her own, recognized the problems these young families were facing and took action to find a facility to provide local support. BCC (now EFSC), sensitive to the needs of the community it served, embraced the concept of a parallel program for child and parent and formed BCC Lab School. In 1976 the program later expanded and brought infants and toddlers into Lab School. Some 7,500 children and approximately 14,000 parents have gone through this life education program.

In the 1990s, former director of Lab School, Dr. Gail Buchanan, with a doctorate in psychology and bachelor’s in occupational therapy, also had big dreams for this unique program. She dreamed of giving Lab School a permanent, self sustaining home base and launch pad for all activity. For the better part of 35 years, Gail served the families in Lab School in every capacity as a parent, an educator, and even a director. After seeing the impact Lab School had on thousands of individuals and families in the community, that dream began to grow inside of Gail’s son and daughter in law, Jimmy and Jonnah Buchanan, who have decided to carry the torch to make this dream come to life.

In order to never risk losing such an incredible community asset, EFSC has agreed to “pass the torch” and transition Lab School into a new non-profit organization to carry forward the vision of helping grow healthy families in our community. In November 2020, we formed a non-profit organization with the state of Florida and received our federal 501(3)(c) non-profit status under the new name Launch Learning. Launch Learning was birthed to give our community an enduring asset, something for the community and supported by the community – a permanent home and sustainability into the future.