DMACC students with your kids on campus

DMACC students watching your kids while you go to college?  Yes that is available and right here on campus.  The DMACC Child Development Center on the Ankeny campus is based in Building 9 and operates from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters with shortened hours for the summer semester.

IMG_3186Sherri Sciarrotta, Executive Director of the DMACC Child Development Center, said “The goals for the children who attend the center are development of positive self-concept and skills for lifelong learning.”  The cost of the service for a full day is $36.00, for students, or $45 for DMACC staff it is $23.50 and $25.50 for half days.

Amy Boeckman is a faculty member at DMACC, and when hired, she and her husband enrolled their daughter Paisley immediately and have been very happy with the results. 

“Our daughter is happy, sleeps well and talks about her friends and teachers at home,” said Boeckman.  Boeckman added that the fresh air and activities are important and it makes for a smooth transition between daycare and home because of how the staff knows their daughter.

Katie Champlin and her husband have had a great experience in the Child Development Center also.  Champlin is a Early Childhood Education professor and has two children in the program. 

“My children are encouraged to become independent and self-motivated learners because the teachers understand the individual nature of supporting development at this age.  I teach on the Ankeny campus in the same building as the CDC, so it is an advantage to be that close to participate in special activities, visit for lunch or a snack, or stop in the observation booth to watch my children learning through play,”  said Champlin.

IMG_3180The mission statement of the DMACC Child Development Center is, “We are committed to the unified purpose of providing quality early care and education for children of DMACC students, staff and faculty while building skills and knowledge for Early Childhood students through hands-on education.” 

Amanda Magee, Professor in Early Childhood Education works with students in the ECE program in this lab environment.  “Students enrolled in the Early Childhood Program complete one or more lab experiences in the CDC caring for children ages 0-5 of DMACC students, staff and faculty” said Magee.

“From the student perspective, the on-site center offers multiple opportunities to build their practices in a quality site with educated professionals.  From the instructor perspective, we love having students in our program…we learn a lot from the students too” said Magee. 

While there is usually a wait list to get children into the program, enrollment occurs in April for the summer term, July for the fall term and November for the Spring Term.  Interested students and staff should contact the center at 515-984-6588 or their academic advisor for interest in this area of study.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*