St Marys Child Center Inc

PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM: 158 children attend St. Mary's Child Center each day. We maintain a low adult-to-child ratio (1:7) to ensure that we can focus on the social and emotional as well as the cognitive and physical development of the children. The high-quality curriculum mitigates the risks to development and promotes school readiness to help the children reach their potential and be successful in school and later life. SMECC uses the COR Advantage assessment system to evaluate the progress of individual children. This whole child assessment allows teachers to view children's development through play and naturally occurring activities. The staff at St. Mary's analyzed the results of the COR Advantage assessments that were completed for 105 of the five-year olds that left our program to enter kindergarten in May 2024. Children were assessed at both the beginning and end of the school year through interactions within the classroom environments. The interactions were recorded to determine the level of development shown. The overall growth throughout the school year across all domains averaged over 16%. Areas with the greatest gains included science and creative arts with almost 20%. It is expected that children living in poverty enter kindergarten at a 3- or 4-year development level.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: The Professional Development Program provides professional development opportunities for community educators. The focus areas include the Educational Philosophy from Reggio Emilia, Italy, Project Work, and Applied Educational Neuroscience research and practices for behavioral health for children and the adults who serve them. Research indicates life changing, positive outcomes for children who are involved in high quality early learning programs. The intention of the Professional Development Program is to share practices that can improve program quality for other programs and therefore, improve outcomes for young children served in all schools. The staff provides seminars, tours, and classroom internships. We present at conferences and provide work force development to individual programs as designed by the specific program's needs.