About the CDC

The Child Development Center is an accredited campus child care center, started in 1984. CDC serves preschool and kindergarten children and their families who work and study at Gallaudet, University alumni parents, the deaf community and the general metropolitan area community. The Child Development Center is a 12-month program which has a special 8-week summer program that serves children up to age 10. The Center is accredited by the National Academy of Accredited Programs, a division of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

A major component of CDC is the Child Development Center-Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (CDC-KDES) Integrated Preschool Model which is designed to supplement and complement the intensive and specialized programming provided by KDES for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. This early child care program, based in the Kendall School building, employs deaf and hearing teachers and staff and provides programming for children on a part-time or full-time basis depending upon the individual needs of the child and family. Since 1988, CDC has been serving deaf, hard of hearing and hearing toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners in an integrated child care program.

CDC works closely with Gallaudet undergraduate and graduate students as a practicum and internship site. The students come from various instructional departments on campus: Education, Family and Consumer Studies, Social Work, Drama, Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, as well as from the Gallaudet Career Center. CDC is also a volunteer and practicum site for high school students from MSSD and other local high schools.

From 1994 through 1996, the CDC managed a three-year outreach grant from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. Project Access ("Access for All: Collaboration for Comprehensive Child Care for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and their Families") linked programs and agencies serving deaf and hard of hearing children and their families with child care programs in their communities. This project was based on the highly successful CDC-KDES Integrated Preschool Model. Exemplary Programs and Research (EPAR) conducted an evaluation of the project in 1998.

For more information about the Child Development Center contact:

Andrea Wellnitz, Director
Child Development Center
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002
Andrea.Wellnitz@gallaudet.edu

Related Resources on the Internet

• Reflections on the Reggio Emilia Approach
• ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education
• ERIC/EECE Electronic Discussion Groups
• ECEOL-L: Early Childhood Education On-Line mailing list
• ECENET-L: Early childhood education/young children (0-8)
• ReadyWeb: Resources for Parents and Educators from ERIC