Services

Decades of research investigating early childhood care and education provide clear evidence that high-quality early experiences set children on a positive developmental trajectory.

Children with access to reliable healthcare, who live in families who are engaged in the workforce, and who receive high-quality early care and education have better early school experiences and ultimately experience better life outcomes than children who do not.

 

The CHILD Center can help meet your family’s child care and early education needs, and make sure your family has the resources you need to support your child’s growth and development. 

CHILD Center staff sit outside with a group of young children.

We provide high quality and evidence-based early care and education services to children ages six weeks to four years old and families from the SWAG communities and beyond. Our staff work to prepare our students for entry into kindergarten not only by emphasizing traditional academic skills but also by cultivating children’s social and emotional development in a positive, fun way. The CHILD Center accepts ELC/ School Readiness vouchers and also provides VPK services for 4-year olds. 

Parents and children enter the CHILD Center, which is open as of August 13, 2018.

The CHILD Center offers the following family education opportunities:

  • Informal learning through volunteering in children’s classrooms
  • Informal family support groups where families will come together to discuss effective parenting strategies
  • Parent/caregiver engagement programs that cover a wide variety of topics that help families thrive, including topics like potty training, budgeting and other financial fitness topics, early literacy, and positive discipline strategies.
  • In addition, the CHILD Center has active partnerships with the SWAG Family Resource Center and other agencies to make sure that families have the resources they need outside of the school setting. 

Two CHILD Center staff members work together to develop skills in the Zucker Center's Practice-Based Coaching model

A primary function of a true model and demonstration site is to support practices that are evidence-based and practically applied in the field of Early Care and Education. To fulfill this function, the CHILD Center offers teacher professional development workshops for early childhood professionals and provides on-the-job training, coaching and professional development to our teachers.

The front entrance of the CHILD Center, soft yellow with a blue logo over the door.

The physical site of the CHILD Center offers a unique learning and collaboration space available to community members in Alachua County and the surrounding areas. Community members can:

  • Learn from the practices of the CHILD Center
  • Observe evidence-based early learning experiences in action
  • Convene stakeholder meetings to discuss ongoing community engagement and early care and education system improvement.