Grand Rapids Community College

Fast Facts about GRCC The first community college in Michigan, founded in 1914 Located on 25 acres in downtown Grand Rapids

Fast Facts about GRCC Educates about 24,000 credit and non-credit students annually. Students: Full time: 43 percent Part time: 57 percent

Fast Facts About GRCC 250 full-time instructors and 350 part-time adjunct instructors President Juan Olivarez

Child Development Department Child Development program began in the early 70’s through the Home Economics program. GRCC Laboratory Preschool has been in operation since fall 1974.

Mission Statement To provide learning experiences in the classroom, Laboratory preschool, and community that help students build the knowledge, skills and dispositions they need to meet children’s developmental needs.

Theoretical Foundations: The Child Development Program began with a constructivist approach and has been influenced by the theories of: Piaget Erikson Bronfenbrenner Vygotsky Gardner

Community Connections: The Child Development Staff works closely with its Advisory Committee which is made up of community leaders in the Early Childhood field, many of whom employ GRCC Child Development Program Graduates.

Community and State Involvement Child Development faculty are committed to providing community and state involvement and leadership in the field. This is evident by the involvement of staff in external groups. Some of these include: the Michigan Early Childhood Professional Development Consortium, American Associate Degree Early Childhood Educators (ACCESS) Michigan affiliate Michigan Early Childhood Teacher Educators Affiliate Kent County Advocacy Coalition Childcare Expulsion Prevention 4C Board Head Start Education Advisory Committee

GRCC Lab Preschool Accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs since 1991 Provides a full-day year round program with five classrooms

Children at the Lab Preschool Serves over one hundred children and their families each semester 40% of the children have college student parents (Funded through Perkins, MSRP and Head Start Collaboration grants)

Preschool Curriculum: The Curriculum at the Lab Preschool is an eclectic child-centered play based curriculum with clear influences from: Constructivism Emergent Curriculum Project Approach Reggio Work Sampling Assessment EARLY Classroom Literacy Enrichment Model

Infant Room Eight Infants from 6 weeks to 15 months Two Lab Instructors, 1 Assistant Students: 118 Human Growth 210 Infant/Toddler Development 285 Cooperative Work Experience

Toddler Room Twelve toddlers Two Lab Instructors, 1 Assistant Students: 118 Human Growth 210 Infant/Toddler Development 285 Cooperative Work Experience

Three Preschool Classrooms 60 children aged 2 ½ to four Four Lab Instructors, 3 Assistants Students: 118 Human Growth 119 Preschool Methods 285 Cooperative Work Experience

Child Development Students Associate Degree Students Child Development Associate Degree Students Paraprofessional Associate Degree Students 2-Year/Transfer Students CDA Students Grace College & Reformed Bible College Students OTA Students Elementary and Secondary Education Students Students seeking education related to a specific content area

Child Development Faculty Three Full-time Classroom Instructors Eight Full-time Lab Instructors Seven Adjunct Instructors teaching from 3-12 credits each semester (Most of the Adjunct Instructors work full time in other programs such as Child Care Centers, Head Start, Elementary classrooms, or other colleges)

Transfer Institutions Western Michigan University GR- Family and Child Studies Aquinas College and Ferris State University GR – Elementary Ed. With ZA Endorsement

Articulation Agreements: The Child Development Program also has articulation agreements with: The Ottawa County Career Line Tech. Center Kent Regional 4C

Increasing Numbers of Students 53% increase in the last five years Fall 2004 enrollment is up 18% from Fall 2003

CD 105 Foundations in Early Childhood Education (3 credits) Developed in 2002 to meet the entry level competencies in the Core Knowledge and Competencies Document

Fundamentals of Child Development CD 116 Families, Intimate Relationships and Human Sexuality (3 credits) CD 118 Human Growth and Development (4 credits – 2 hours lab per week) CD 215 Adult-Child Interactions (3 credits)

Curriculum Development and Implementation CD 210 Infant/Toddler Development (4 credits – 2 hours lab per week) CD 119 Preschool Methods (4 credits – 3 hours lab per week) CD 250 School-age Childcare also available

Specialized Curriculum and Program Administration CD 218 Preschool Management (3 credits) CD 260 Emergent Literacy (3 credits – 20 hours tutoring required) CD 230 Young Child with Special Needs (4 credits – 2 hours lab per week)

Capstone Experience CD 180 for CDA Students CD 280/285 for Associate Degree Students (CD 180 and CD 280 required 225 hours of paid work experience at an approved site)

Online Instruction: GRCC offers the following courses online: CD 105 Foundations of Early Childhood Education CD 118 Human Growth and Development CD 119 Preschool Methods (Online Hybrid)

Early Reading First Grant EARLY is a collaboration between Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Head Start for Kent County, and United Methodist Community House.

Early Accent on Reading and Learning for Young Children

For more information: Visit the GRCC website at: