Our Child Development & Pre-K Program (CDP) was established in 1998 to increase the quality, quantity, and accessibility of child care for residents of the Edgewood community. The program has expanded from its initial enrollment of 20 four year olds to 74 children ages six months to five years (through the Ga. lottery funded Pre-K Program).
The CDP has adopted the High Scope Learning Approach Curriculum. The goal of this curriculum is to provide children with an environment that stimulates learning, encourages curiosity, exploration, problem solving, and self-expression through hands-on activities. We believe children learn by doing - through actively manipulating and exploring their environment as well as making many of their own decisions.
Our program curriculum revolves around a comprehensive system of...
- establishing partnerships with parents, with sensitivity to their changing needs,
- screening for developmental delays and health issues,
- assigning a primary caregiver
- ongoing individual child assessments,
- enriching the learning environment,
- following a daily schedule with a balance of child selected and teacher facilitated activities,
- lesson planning,
- teacher observations,
- developing a child's portfolio,
- teachable moments,
- positive interactions between teachers and children,
- parent involvement and conferences,
- teacher training.
We address the needs of the whole child by partnering with families and the community to ensure that each child is supported at home and at school. A Family Resources Coordinator is on staff to provide parenting workshops, counseling, and to link families to other Whitefoord Community Program services as well as other community resources. The Child Development & Pre-K Program is accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Program fees are based on a sliding scale as determined by annual household income.