Baylor U. Piper Child Development Center - United States

Program Image

Program

  • Type of Program: University lab school/child care center
  • Age Served: 0 to 10 years
  • Presenter: Pamela Wilder (Director)
  • Address: 315 Washington Ave
    Waco, Texas, United States 76701
  • Telephone: (254) 710-4373
  • Fax: (254) 710-4374
  • Email: [email protected]

Program Purpose

The purpose of the Piper Center is to provide the university with a model of early care and education of young children.

Program Description

The Piper Center houses a full-day child care program accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and serves 85 university and community families. Infants through prekindergarten children are enrolled. University students in Child and Family Studies and Early Childhood Education complete their coursework by participating in our classrooms or observing children from our observation booths. The lead teachers supervise the student's practicum experiences. A collaboration with the local school district and an early childhood intervention agency provides innovative examples of inclusion and appropriate teaching practices. Our enrollment is diverse, integrating children of different social, economic, religious, cultural, and racial groups as well as children with differing abilities. Continuity of care and primary caregiving is the fundamental orientation of our infant and toddler program. The youngest children are assigned in groups of four to a primary caregiver who stays with them for at least two years. Our infant and toddler teachers are trained Parents As Teachers educators and offer the PAT in Child Care program to our parents.

Most Unique Program Feature

The Piper Center features an innovative infant/toddler program. Teachers/caregivers are assigned a primary group of four infants and stay with the group for at least two years. Our goal is to provide continuous placement of a child with a primary caregiver for three years. Parents are active participants in the program. Through Missouri's Parents as Teachers in Child Care curriculum, our parents participate in parent support groups, parenting seminars, and play groups. They also serve on the parent advisory board and contribute to the planning for their child. A collaboration with our local early childhood intervention agency, the Klaras Center, has enabled us to integrate infants and toddlers with disabilities into classrooms with typically developing children. The collaboration provides therapeutic resources and support for children, parents, and primary caregivers. Baylor students majoring in Child and Family Studies can choose to be placed in the infant room for their "teaching in the preschool" course. The model for their practicum experience is based on training child life specialists in hospital settings. In addition to preparing a child study and planning activities, these students must also learn to obtain samples for an authentic assessment and contribute to a child's developmental portfolio; work with a family; design an infant environment; and collaborate with an interdisciplinary team when planning for a child with disabilities.

Edited by Michael Kalinowski