Jackson Rancheria celebrated the expansion of its already-existing day care center last Friday. The “Little Oaks Learning Center” expansion doubles the existing square footage to 10,000 feet in order to accommodate a growing number of children the care center looks after. The center is “employee-based”, meaning that all of whom are related to employees of the Jackson Rancheria. According to Amy Hagood, manager for the center, children from 18 months to 13 years of age may attend. Even though many of the children attend school during the day, Little Oaks provides them with an after-school environment that encourages further education through social interaction, field trips and a special curriculum. “Teacher feedback tells us that they look forward to seeing Little Oaks children. Teachers are impressed with (many of the children’s) knowledge of letters and numbers, and their ability to work well in social groups,” says Hagood. The care center provides 5 buses to transport the kids back and forth. Hagood says that the Little Oaks of today was a dream of Margaret Dalton, founder of the Jackson Rancheria.