Mission & Philosophy

Mission

The mission of the Virginia Commonwealth University Child Development Center is to provide quality, developmentally appropriate care and education for the children of faculty, employees, and students; and to serve as a model and resource to families, students, and the community.

Philosophy

The VCU Child Development Center provides a warm and stimulating environment in which each child receives individual care and guidance. Because we know that the first six years of a child's life are the most important in establishing learning patterns and attitudes which will help him/her grow up to be a healthy productive adult, we believe that an early childhood program of the highest quality is imperative. Our program not only seeks to address the health and safety needs of children, but also, has as its final goal, the development of the whole child-emotional, social, physical and intellectual.

We believe that:

• children learn best when they feel good about themselves;
• children learn more when they have the opportunity to experience things for themselves and when they are actively involved;
• children are independent thinkers, creative doers, investigators, teachers, analysts, and careful observers;
• children develop at different rates;
• the curriculum extends beyond the classroom;
• a strong link between home and center is essential;
• the family and significant caregivers are the most important people in a child's life;
• a team approach is necessary to meet the diverse needs of families and children;
• family and professional collaboration is essential.

In keeping with these beliefs, our center:

• provides a program which is appropriate for the age and interest of each child;
• provides a program which emphasizes the positive in each child;
• accepts children for what and who they are regardless of age, sex, nationality, ability, race or religion;
• uses a curriculum approach to stimulate learning in the areas of math, language arts, music, arts, drama, science and social studies;
• allows opportunities for children to make choices, accept responsibilities, solve problems, share, and explore new ideas and concepts;
• provides for family grouping of children when appropriate-mixed ages where children can learn from each other;
• provides materials which are multi-level and non-sexist;
• uses family style dining where children are able to serve themselves (with help when appropriate);
• provides activities beyond the classroom which involve a variety of outdoor learning experiences on the playground and on field trips;
• works closely with families through open and frequent communications;
• provides links to other community resources.