It’s been 10 years since the Learning Tree opened its local facility at the corner of James and Dubois Streets, in the building that formerly housed First Baptist Church. In that time, the non-profit organization, which helps children and adolescents with behavior development issues, has seen its programs expand into other areas, resulting in the Learning Tree becoming one of the largest employers in Tallassee.
Founded in 1983 in Mobile by Jerre Brimer and Pat Murphy, the Learning Tree has residential campuses in Tallassee, Semmes and Jacksonville, as well as non-residential/day programs in Auburn and Anniston. The Tallassee campus houses the organization’s administrative offices.
Dr. Marc Williams is the Learning Tree’s executive director, and has been in Tallassee since the opening of the local campus.
“I started as the regional director here in Tallassee,” Williams said. “I became executive director four years ago. We now have three regional directors; they’re responsible for campus programs and preschool programs. For instance, in Auburn, every child that goes to public school goes to a preschool program that’s supervised by the Learning Tree.”
Whitney Hester is now the regional director who is responsible for the Tallassee and Auburn programs. She has also been with the Learning Tree for ten years. She had numerous other assignments with the organization prior to being selected to fill Williams’ slot when he became executive director.
“I oversee the operations at this campus, with six primary departments,” she said. “I also travel to Auburn once a week to meet with our preschool director.”
The local regional director is also seeking to continually upgrade her staff’s capabilities.
“I’m interested in developing the skill sets within,” she said of her relationship with other employees. “For example, there is some computer training that we’re presently looking at for our people, so we can better serve our students.”
Other newer programs have been instituted that have Williams excited about the future.
“We are contracted by the State Department of Education to do services with other school systems,” he said. “Right now, we’ve got five consultants with 56 different school districts, and we’ll probably be hiring more.”
Williams also fondly recalled the cooperation of city officials when the Learning Tree came to Tallassee ten years ago.
“For the most part, everybody’s been supportive,” he said. “When we were hiring people, the city allowed us to use the council chambers at City Hall to train those new employees.”
The executive director also foresees different types of growth for his organization.
“There’s the physical growth, in terms of the number of children we serve,” he said. “There’s also where and how we serve kids, in terms of expansion into the public school system. We want to do more.”
The Learning Tree has a “Chamber Chat” anniversary event, coordinated with the local Chamber of Commerce, scheduled for late July.