The Human Services Academy is the first intergenerational care career-based program in Wisconsin, and possibly the nation annually enrolling more than 100 students. The concept that became the Human Service Academy was conceived in 2001, when Marshfield High School students who were enrolled in the “Careers with Kids” classes expressed a need for a facility to learn, observe and interact with children. The Family and Consumer Science Department obtained approval from the School District of Marshfield Board of Education in January 2001 to fundraise for a child learning center attached to Marshfield High School that would licensed as a child care center for 32 children. High school students selected the name “Tiny Tiger Child Learning Center” and a Project Specific Fund was established at the Marshfield Area Community Foundation.

In April 2005, after touring an intergenerational facility in Shawano, the vision expanded to include an adult day services program to provide high school students experiential learning with both the younger and elderly generation. Amy Beathard established the non-profit Companion Day Services, Inc. (CDS) adult day services program. The Child Care Center’s of Marshfield Administrator, Sue Babcock, committed to provide child care services in partnership with the Tiny Tiger project.

By May 2005, the Tiny Tiger Leadership Team renamed their projected facility to Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center with the following slogan: “Learning for all Ages Caring for all Stages.” With this expanded vision, a larger facility was needed to house the three non-profit partners: a child care center, high school classroom and adult day care. Mike Check, Check Builders Inc from Cato, Wisconsin, endorsed the project, purchased the land directly west of Marshfield High school and financed construction of the Center.

On October 17, 2005, Companion Day Services became incorporated and licensed to serve 20 adults. The mission of CDS is to support families by providing quality adult care in a homelike environment, recognizing individuality and promoting social-emotional, mental, and physical wellness. CDS received funding from Marshfield Area United Way to address the community need for adult day programming in 2006 and 2007. In October 2006, Sara Riedel was hired to operate CDS. The first day of operation was March 19, 2007.

The Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 15, 2006 with construction completed March 1, 2007. Child Care Centers of Marshfield began operation of their licensed child care center for 92 children on March 5, 2007. Their mission is to provide a safe, stimulating and nurturing early childhood enrichment program in a homelike environment under the supervision of caring, qualified teachers. Child Care Centers of Marshfield received a 100% guaranteed grant from the United States Department of Agriculture in July 2007 to purchase the facility from the developer.

The Academy, located in the heart of the Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center, opened in fall of 2007. On September 13, 2007 the Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted the ribbon cutting event.

The Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center is a shared site with three interactive but independent non-profits under one roof.

The Human Services Academy staffing, technology support, supplies and textbooks are funded by the School District of Marshfield.

Monthly rent is being paid to Child Care Center’s of Marshfield by CDS and HSA Board of Directors for their space in the Center. Fees from participants fund the operational costs of the Child Care Center and Companion Day Services so they are self-sustaining.

Rent for the HSA classroom in the Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center is paid through an Endowment Fund at the Marshfield Area Community Foundation. Tiny Tiger Leadership Team members and students facilitate fundraising efforts such as the Children’s Festival, Italian Buffet and Eagle’s Breakfast to grow the Human Services Academy Endowment Fund to allow payment for the classroom rent without supplemental funding. Education for students in the Academy is free and open to neighboring schools. In order to be able to continue to offer these tremendous opportunity’s to our students, your contributions are welcome.

To Donate Please visit the Marshfield Area Community Foundation's website 

The mission of the Academy is to create a lasting bond between generations while providing an education to our youth in a quality intergenerational learning environment. 

Imagine a place where high school students come together, interacting, exploring, and building meaningful relationships with infants to octogenarians. That place is the Marshfield Human Services Academy.

The objectives of HSA are to:
1. Prepare students for careers such as Psychology, Social Work, Family or School Counseling, Education/Early Childhood, Special Needs, Vocational Rehabilitation and Geriatrics. 
2. Apply knowledge gained from core MHS courses while allowing students to explore career options that serve people.
3. Serve the community by providing skilled workers who demonstrate honesty, respect, responsibility and teamwork. 

The HSA is a unique public/private partnership designed to enhance the lives of Marshfield residents. Education is a shared responsibility among students, teachers, parents, children and CDS participants. Partnerships have been created with individuals and agencies in our community using the talents, resources and expertise of many to create rigorous and relevant learning experiences for our students.

HSA students enroll in the following courses:

Caregiving and Community: Create a caring school, community and society for youth, special needs people and senior adults. Construct community projects for others while learning the meaning of “giving” and “caring”

Connecting Generations: Gail knowledge and skills necessary to work with people from one to 101 years old.

Career Pathways: Practice “soft” skills such as honesty, respect and responsibility. Interact with post-secondary educators and professions while investigating sixteen career clusters.

Careers with Kids: Gail knowledge of child development while implementing activities with children in the Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center. Earn the Wisconsin Assistant Child Care Teacher license.

The intention of the Academy is to expose students to all aspects of the human services industry from entry level to post graduate careers. Participants will have three choices upon graduation:

• Pursuit of four year college/graduate school degree in human services
• Pursuit of diploma or associate degree from a technical college
• Immediate employment

The rigor and breadth of the curriculum will prepare students to pursue careers in these related areas:

• Psychology
• Social Work
• Family or School Counseling
• Education/Early Childhood
• Special needs
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Geriatrics

Kacie (HSA Student) - My most memorable moment at Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center was when I got to work with the kids and do projects with them at Companion Day Services. I learned so much about their development and how people of different ages interact. I really loved working with them. They are cute and fun! 

Amelia, Kelly, and Jasmine (HSA Students) - Our most memorable moment at Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center was when we walked across the hall to the 3 year old room for a child development project and as soon as we sat down behind the kids, they lost focus on their teacher, who was reading the story. We thought it was amusing to see how excited they were to have visitors. We brought in a camera to document our time in the room, immediately after, we took the first picture, every child yelled, "Take a picture of me!"

Samantha (HSA Student) - It's hard to say what my most memorable moment was. I can't pick just one! During the semester, we covered so much information. I did enjoy the Thanksgiving activity we did with the children and grandfriends. We made turkey hands out of construction paper. While we were making them with the children and grandfriends, Roger had his small candy dish beside his chair and was sharing candy with the children. Once he saw what they had made, he gave them a piece of candy. One little boy, who had already gotten his piece of candy, continuously went back to get another piece. It was funny because Roger continued to give him the candy, until the teacher noticed what he was doing! It was really nice of Roger to offer the candy and even offered it to the teenagers. I definitely won't forget the kindness and the bond the kids and their grandfriends share!

Sara (Child Care Teacher) - My memorable moment at Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center was when I had a group of children from a local school visit Tiny Tiger. The children hesitated at the doorway when faced with one of the CDS participants who was in a wheelchair. One of the HSA students saw what was happening and immediately stepped in to take the participants hand and say to the visiting children, "It's okay, he's my friend."

Jennifer L. Fredrick
Career and Technical Education Coordinator
School District of Marshfield - Marshfield High School
1401 East Becker Road
Marshfield, WI 54449
(715) 387-8464 ext. 4376 (phone)
fredrickj@marshfieldschools.org