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Child Development

Goals & Philosophy

The Child Development Center at Cerro Coso College features a dynamic program, for both its students and the children who attend the Center.

Serving the Students

The Child Development Program is a theory-based curriculum that centers on the child's developmental needs, which is the foundation for activities at the Center. An individualized approach that emphasizes developmental and learning-readiness over specific tasks is the hallmark of the curriculum. The cornerstone to this program are the staff who are dedicated to professional growth and educated in theory, who work alongside students to help train them in the skills that will help them to secure a fulfilling career in a variety of Child Development related positions.

The Child Development Center is dedicated to providing students with as many opportunities for learning as possible. The Center focuses on trying to accommodate the needs of its individual students as best it can. The Center offers flexible scheduling of its student employees to allow them to continue their education, and have gainful employment at the same time. The environment of the Center is unique to Cerro Coso in that it is designed in a manner that is meant to enhance the learning experience of the students, while providing a child-friendly environment that stimulates the children who attend the Center.

Serving the Children

The goal of the Child Development Center is to help each child in his or her own way to develop a positive self-concept, social skills, and creativity, as well as to build foundations for future reading skills and other academic pursuits. Their philosophy is to help each child grow physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally, while most importantly developing a high self-esteem. The foundation of every well developed, happy child (person) is a good and strong self-concept. If the child likes himself and knows others like him and accept him, he will be open to learning.

Theory put to Practice

The concept behind the Child Development Center is that the principles and theory of child development are taught in the classroom, but then applied through practice in a working environment in the Child Development Center. The goal extends beyond just providing experience to students however, as the Center makes concerted efforts provide paid student employment opportunities for many of its students. Funding through various college and state work study, along with support from CalWORKS, enables the center to help students financially during the course of their education while they gain experience in the child development field. Many Associate Teachers are also students who are still taking classes, that are able to also have a full-time job with benefits.

Not only does the Child Development Center provide hands-on experience for its students at the IWV Campus of Cerro Coso located in Ridgecrest, but they have recently opened a new center in California City. The California City Child Development Center will be offering the same quality education and work experience opportunities as the Center in Ridgecrest. The California City Center will expand their course scheduling to include night classes to further meet the needs of its students.

Partnerships

Students are not limited to working at the Child Development Center in order to gain hands-on experience working with children. The Center works closely with an active advisory committee made up of community child care service providers. These partners provide students opportunities to work in varying environments, with different focuses, to provide a wide spectrum of opportunities for the Child Development students. They allow students to have hands-on, practical experience with various age groups from infants through school age children. The experience gained while working at these partner centers is applicable towards earning their degree in Child Development, as well as towards obtaining their Child Development Permit.

The Center also supports families in their efforts to build parenting skills, provide nurturing environments for children, and promote the success of children as individuals. Parents are considered partners in extending support for children from the Center to the home.

Career Ladder Matrix

The Child Development Center has established a clear career ladder for its students that will enable them to progress in their educational and vocational goals. As the students or employees gain experience they are able to progress along the career ladder towards their desired position, or they can take their experience and branch into one of a variety of child related careers. This career ladder matrix mirrors the education/experience requirement matrix of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for Child Development permits.

Child Development Permit Matrix
Title	Education Requirement	Experience Requirement	Five Year Renewal	Alternative Qualifications	Authorization
Assistant (Optional)	6 units of *Early Childhood Education (ECE) or Child Development (CD)	None	105 hours professional growth	Accredited HERO program (incl. ROP):; or CTC approved training	Assist in the instruction of children under supervision of Assoc. Teacher or above.
Associate Teacher	12 units ECE/CD including core courses	50 days of 3+ hours per day within 2 years	Must meet teacher requirements within 10 years	Child Dev. Associate Credential; or CTC approved training	May provide instruction and supervise Assistant
Teacher	24 units ECE/CD including core courses + 16 GE units	175 days of 3+ hours per day within 4 years	105 hours of professional growth	AA or higher in ECE or related field w/3 sem. unit supervised field exp. in ECE setting; or CTC approved training.	May provide instruction and supervise all above (including Aide)
Master Teacher	24 units ECE/CD including core courses + 16 GE units; + 6 specialization units; + 2 adult supervision units	350 days of 3+ hours per day within 4 years	105 hours of professional growth	BA or higher w/12 units of ECE, +3 units supervised field exp. in ECE setting; or CTC approved training	May provide instruction and supervise all above (incl. Aide) May also serve as coordinator of curriculum and staff development
Site Supervisor	AA (or 60 units) with 24 ECE/CD units (incl. core); +6 units administration; +2 units adult supervision	350 days of 3+ hours per day within 4 years, including at least 100 days of supervising adults	105 hours of professional growth	BA or higher w/12 units of ECE, +3 units supervised field exp. in ECE setting, Teaching or Admin. credential w/12 units of ECE, +3 units supervised field exp. in ECE setting; or CTC approved training	May supervise single site program, provide instruction, and serve as coordinator of curriculum and staff development
Program Director	BA with 24 ECE/CD units (incl. core); +6 units administration; +2 units adult supervision	Site supervisor status and one program year of site supervisor experience	105 hours of professional growth	Teaching or Admin. credential w/12 units of ECE, +3 units supervised field exp. in ECE setting; or CTC approved training	May supervise multiple site program; provide instruction; and serve as coord. of curriculum and staff development

Training Consortium

The Child Development Training Consortium provides cost-effective training to eligible personnel employed by Child Development programs to assist them in meeting the requirements of the California Children's Center Instructional and Supervision Permits. The Consortium also provides training opportunities for Family Child Care Providers.

On-campus classes form the foundation of course offerings, special emphasis is placed on offering off-campus courses, and courses offered at special times of day or days of the week. Short term classes or classes with specialized content developed specifically for the Consortium students are also possible. The majority of courses provide units of credit that can be applied toward the Children's Center Instructional and Supervision Permits; however, some courses may meet prerequisite requirements or have a vocational focus as in the case of classes designed specifically for Family Child Care providers.

The Child Development Center believes in supporting their students in obtaining a well-rounded education. To meet the needs of the students the Center provides opportunities for students to attend national and international training sessions, as well as providing day-long training worth college credits.

AmeriCorps

Early Childhood Education Literacy Program

Program Overview

The ECEL Program is a state and local collaboration among 25 community colleges, the Chancellor�s Office of the California Community Colleges, state and county Department of Social Services programs, local school districts and schools, day care centers, and AmeriCorps. The program provides a rigorous community service-learning opportunity for community college students and TANF recipients who will enroll in AmeriCorps and provide one-to-one and/or small group preliteracy activities and literacy tutoring services to children.
AmeriCorps Members can choose to serve 450 or 900 hours of service over the course of 9 to 12 months (one term).80% of those hours are direct service tutoring.20% of those hours are member training and community service projects. Members are eligible to serve for two terms

Mission Statement

The ECEL Program is dedicated to improving the reading and literacy abilities of children who are from low-income families, limited English speaking families, or are reading or functioning below their stage, age or grade appropriate literacy level.

Getting Things Done

AmeriCorps Members provide preliteracy activities to infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Each Member works with the same 3 to 5 children, on a one-to-one and/or small group basis, for approximately 10 to 20 hours per week, over a 9 to 12 month period.75% of the children will achieve 80% of their goals on their respective Literacy Checklist & Development Goal Plan, which includes interest and motivation in achieving literacy, speech and language expression, oral language development, and overall preliteracy skills as measured by age/stage level increases.

AmeriCorps Members tutor K-3 children. Each Member works with the same 7 to 9 children, on a one-to-one and/or small group basis, for approximately 10 to 20 hours per week, over a 9 to 12 month period. The LEARNS Literacy Assessment Profile (LLAP) is used to measure reading improvement, with 75% of the children served demonstrating at least a ten-point increase on the LLAP instrument by the end of the tutoring year. Children�s literacy skills will improve in the areas of book handling/concepts of print, reading strategies and behaviors, phonics and phonemic awareness, listening comprehension, reading comprehension and writing.

Member Development

AmeriCorps Members will be provided 90 to 180 hours of tutor training. This training will provide Members with the knowledge, skills and abilities to provide structured, one-to-one and/or small group literacy development experiences for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and children in grades K-3.Members will complete an intensive pre-service orientation in tutor training and participate in ongoing tutor training.
Strengthening Communities

AmeriCorps Members will engage in six (6) short-term group community service projects over the course of 12 months, participate in soliciting book donations, and recruitment efforts.

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CC Online: (760) 934-2796 (888) 537-6932 cconline.cerrocoso.edu

Indian Wells Valley: 3000 College Heights Blvd. Ridgecrest, CA 93555 (760) 384-6100

Eastern Sierra Center Bishop: 2957 Birch Street Bishop, CA 93514 (760) 872-1565

Eastern Sierra Center Mammoth: 100 College Parkway Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546 (760) 934-2875

Kern River Valley: 5520 Lake Isabella Blvd. Lake Isabella, CA 93240 (760) 379-5501

South Kern: 140 Methusa Ave. Edwards AFB, CA 93524 (661) 258-8644

Last updated May 21, 2008