TCC commemorated half a century of childcare and development on Sept. 24 at the NE Children’s Center’s 50th anniversary celebration.

The event showcased speakers with decades of teaching experience, child growth specialists and recent child development program graduates.

Lisa Self, NE Campus department chair for child development and education, cited TCC Children’s Center’s low children to teacher ratios and innovative, individualized curriculum as advantages over local daycares.

“We try to be what [other daycares] need to be, what they should be,” Self said. “We are developmentally appropriate. We are child-centered. We’re not telling [the children] what they need to learn. They tell us what they’re interested in, and we give them learning opportunities around that.”

Recent NW and South Campus renovation plans include the addition of similar childcare organizations. However, unlike NE Campus, these will not be lab schools.

Lab schools provide childcare to the community while supporting students working on an associate degree in child development by supplying hands-on experience with the children enrolled.

It gives education students real-world training not found in a traditional classroom, as recent children’s development graduate Natalie Collins, who previously worked at a private local daycare, said.

“It reminded me of the joy that I felt of being in the classroom. Going into the classroom, participating with children, interacting with all the activities,” she said. “Having a lasting impression on a child is the best reward you could get.”

This learning style also weeds out those who realize this career path is not something they wish to pursue. It gives them time to start in a different direction without investing thousands in tuition, Karen Kallas, a high school education and training teacher, said.

“They’re four-year universities that don’t have lab schools that offer child redevelopment resources, so to go to a college where you can just get right into it your first year instead of having to wait for your junior or senior year, that’s really great,” Karen Kallas said.

Barbara Smith, a retired educator who worked at the Children’s Center for 45 years, said the program’s approach to development has remained consistent.

“The teachers that teach the young children are previous students of ours, and so the philosophy carries over that our children come first, safety comes first, family and community come first,” she said.

Lola Hamlett, a Collegiate Academy senior and former Children’s Center enrollee, said her time at the Children’s Center fueled her goal of becoming a child advocacy lawyer.

“It was so influential being able to be part of such an innovative program that cared so deeply for the children involved,” she said. “Having that individual care really shapes a child and sets them up for success.”

Her mom, Tiffany Hamlett, works for the child development program and passed along her understanding of the importance of quality education at a young age and building a solid foundation for youth to grow into.

For student-parents, having this resource on campus at a discounted rate means keeping in close contact with their child while advancing their education and career.f

Breanna Clark, a psychology student and parent of a child currently enrolled in the Children’s Center, said the center helped resolve the stress of balancing school while being a mother.

“They used to go to a part-time mothers-day-out program, so I was nervous about the transition,” she said. “But they were so caring and attentive. And it being so close gave me more time with my kid.”

Meredith Konland, a TCC graduate and mother of three children previously enrolled in the Children’s Center, said the quality of education offered trumped a long commute.

“You need to know that you can trust the people that you’re leaving your children with,” she said. “It wasn’t accessible … It was out of my way, but we drove here because we knew how great it was.”