The Child Development program at GCC has four new part-time professors and one new full-time professor. It is a rebuilding year with several teachers and the director of the Child Development Center (CDC) retiring. Dr. Alice Martinez, one of the new professors, is teaching CHLDV 138 this semester after 11 years in the non-credit department.  Martinez previously served as a first-grade teacher and elementary school principal, and is excited to use her knowledge and experience to inspire new educators. “Teaching is so personal; you need to be all in,” Martinez said. 

The CDC started in 1990 and was created from the need for students to have hands-on learning opportunities for aspiring educators. It is a lab school where child development, pediatric nursing, and developmental psychology students can get hands-on experience in both observing and teaching from inside the classroom.

Child Development major, Natasha Nopharatana, said the program taught her the most about herself, her family, and her personal growth.” Her introspective journey culminated with the student teaching field practicum class in which theory met practical experience. She uses these new insights about herself in her journey to becoming a better teacher. “You go into the class thinking this is just teaching, but then the scope widens,” Nopharatana said. She now feels ready to take on more than she thought she was capable of. She is now taking psychology and art because they are complementary to her learning in child development classes.

Mary-Jane Biancheri, the department chair, facilitates professional development of CDC teachers as well as overseeing the student teachers. She is excited about the mixing of older and younger staff to gain fresh perspectives and ideas. The CDC is focused on anti-bias and child-led classroom instruction. She wants to make sure “we are holding onto the deep long-standing commitment of the teachers in this department as we go into a place where more and more is expected academically at younger and younger ages … we need to preserve childhood.” She finds that constant professional development for the staff is important so that they can model best practices for student teachers in the program. CDC teachers receive specialized training, such as trauma-informed classroom training to help children deal with the recent wildfire losses and diversity equity and inclusion training. 

GCC graduates have many pathways to success through the Child Development program, from transferring to earn higher degrees, earning teaching certifications, or opening a home daycare business, to starting work as associate or lead teachers in Early Childhood Education (ECE), Head Start, Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K), or Transitional Kindergarten (TK). GCC has high standards and graduates have a great foundation from which to start their careers by attending here, said Martinez. Going into the teaching field is more important than ever, the difference you can make in “creating a safe and inviting environment for children at the beginning of their education – their first stop away from home into what is the rest of the world – is so important,” Biancheri said. GCC creates well-prepared educators.

Kimberly Parnell can be reached at [email protected].