Lake Tahoe Community College’s Child Development Center celebrates 30 years

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Child Development Center (CDC). This milestone reflects three decades of serving the children of LTCC students, LTCC employees, and the South Lake Tahoe community. To honor this occasion, the public is invited to a celebration on Thursday, May 16 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Schedule:
5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. - Arrival and Tours Down Memory Lane

5:30 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. - Remarks from CDC Leaders and Current Coyote Pups
5:50 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. - Cut Birthday Cake and Celebrate

All will take place at the Lake Tahoe Community College Child Development Center, 1 College Dr, South Lake Tahoe.

“Lake Tahoe Community College is proud of the role the CDC has played in supporting our community,” said Jeff DeFranco, president of LTCC. “It really is exemplary of LTCC’s unwavering commitment to supporting our students and employees, easing the burden for student parents pursuing college degrees and supporting LTCC employees by keeping families close.”

“It is a momentous achievement to be celebrating three decades of the Child Development Center at Lake Tahoe Community College,” said Leslie Amato, Early Learning Programs Director. “We are immensely proud of the impact the CDC has had on our community and for the generations of children and families served.”

The CDC at LTCC is a fully licensed childcare facility located on LTCC's campus. Licensed for 46 children aged 6 weeks through pre-kindergarten or 6 years, the CDC is a model facility for Early Childhood Education students. The program’s philosophy is based on the belief that children learn through play, providing a hands-on, developmentally appropriate curriculum that meets the needs of the children as a group and each child as an individual. The staff works closely with each family to assess the child's and family's needs within the childcare setting. Open year-round, the CDC serves the childcare needs of students, staff, and community members.

LTCC recognizes childcare as a key barrier to accessing higher education and has shifted focus to providing student parents consistent and easy access to campus-based early learning programs.

The CDC is one of LTCC’s three early learning programs housed on-campus, working alongside the Tahoe Parents Nursery School (TPNS) and Bridge Language Academy to prioritize and streamline service for LTCC student-parents. The CDC maintains a waitlist but students, employees, and currently enrolled families of LTCC have first priority when space is available.

LTCC recently was awarded a federal Child Care Access Means Parents In Schools (CCAMPIS) grant of $1.5 million to increase access to childcare for LTCC students and continue its goal to support students being able to receive higher education.

Want to support the children served by the CDC? Click here to donate to their fund to provide balance bikes and helmets for its kids.