Our Mission
PROVIDE A PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY SAFE SPACE WHERE ALL LEARNERS CAN ENGAGE WITH EACH OTHER AND TEACHERS CAN REFLECT ON BEST PRACTICES OR PROCEDURES FOR EACH AGE GROUP.
Our Vision
TO BE THE PREMIER MODEL FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
Importance of Early Childhood Education
“It’s not just kindergarten you have to think about,” said Sara McGinnis, curriculum director at SCSD1. “You have to think about readiness for middle school, for high school are they going to be ready for those critical points in their life?”
— The Sheridan Press, Navigating changes in Early Childhood Education by Mike Dunn, May 18th, 2017
Academic Success
High quality, early childhood education provides the foundation for children’s academic success, health, and general well-being. In the first five years of life, a child’s brain develops faster and more than any other time in his or her life. This is recognized as the “critical stages of development.” The critical period hypothesis (CPH) states that the first few years of life constitute the time during which language, cognitive thinking, and motor develops readily. After the age of five, language acquisition, cognitive, and motor development is much more difficult, and ultimately less successful, (The Australian Parenting Website , 2018 ). Young children experience profound biological brain development and achieve ninety-percent of their brain’s capacity to learn before they enter Kindergarten.
In 1991, the largest and most authoritative assessment of children began. A federally funded research project tracked more than 1,300 children, some of which attended a proven, research based childcare program with staff that are educated in early childhood, and the others attended a childcare program that followed the minimum state child care standards. Their findings indicate that those children who attended a program that reflect the state standards in their early years continued to struggle academically, behaviorally, and socially through their fifteenth birthday (National Education Association , 2017).
A study completed by the National Education Association found that “Children in high quality programs are projected to make roughly $143,000 more over their lifetimes than those who didn't take part in the program. Furthermore, school districts can expect to save more than $11,000 per child because participants are less likely to require special or remedial education.” (National Education Association , 2017).
MCCC having a research based, proven, program that meets and exceeds NAEYC standards will positively impact our community by raising awareness of the importance of educated staff, child-based curriculum, assessments in growth and development, and an understanding that young children learn best through play.
Parents will be welcomed into the classrooms at MCCC. Teachers and staff will work towards developing meaningful relationships with parents as they become invested in the program. While in the classroom, parents can observe child-appropriate teaching techniques and strategies that can be carried over at home. We will also demonstrate culturally competent and culturally relevant values by reflecting each family within our classroom community.
“early childhood education is the building blocks for lifelong learning”