Quality of Care

Accreditation

At the YWCA’s Children’s Centers, we’re committed to working in partnership with parents to provide the best care possible for their children. Our centers are accredited, which means that they meet rigorous standards for providing age-appropriate curricula, a high ratio of adults to children, and well-trained staff. Family Services and Special Needs coordinators are also available to help create and implement age-appropriate developmental plans for children as well as help parents through crises they may be facing, such as finding affordable housing, accessible health care or full-time employment.

Curriculum

A child must feel independent and successful to be a healthy, happy learner.

At the Children’s Centers, we accomplish this through a “learning center” concept in which areas of learning are set up throughout the room. This allows each child to learn at an individual pace that is challenging yet comfortable. The centers are set up to promote social, physical, language and cognitive development.

The children have both free choice and teacher-directed opportunities for exploration of art, science, music, dramatic play, manipulatives, and pre-math and reading activities.

In addition to classroom activities, the children go on frequent field trips, exploring the city and widening the circles of their world.

Primary Caregiving

Children blossom in a loving and nurturing environment. At the YWCA’s Childrens’s Centers, each child has a primary caregiver who builds a warm, personal relationship with that child. This primary caregiver becomes your family’s child-rearing partner, working to create a consistent and comfortable “little family” which provides a home-away-from-home for your child.

Cultural Diversity

The Children’s Centers are committed to the YWCA’s mission to empower women and girls and eliminate racism. In the rich diversity of our multi-cultural environment, children of all backgrounds feel accepted and affirmed. Our staff is culturally diverse and trained to help children learn to enjoy and respect their differences.

Class curricula is culturally relevant and stresses learning opportunities that empower children to work to overcome prejudice and stereotypes.

Family Involvement

Families are our partners in caring for children. This partnership involves parents/guardians giving daily input on their child’s activities and offering insights about how we can best work with each child.

The home/YWCA relationship begins with a family orientation. We then keep families up-to-date with daily reports and a monthly newsletter. Special programs, family nights, parent discussion and open houses serve to bring us together to strengthen the partnership in a relaxed setting.

All of these activities and opportunities are designed to make families and children feel like part of the extended Children’s Center family. We share the common goal of giving every child the best start possible.

Child/Staff Ratios