breadcrumbs-home chemeketa-community-college-abstract-logo chemeketa-community-college-abstract-logo cross minus plus menu search oregon chemeketa-instagram chemeketa-logo-full-color envelope-o star check close home chevron-left chevron-right plus2 chevron-up chevron-down twitter facebook envelope linkedin angle-left angle-right angle-up angle-down rotate-left instagram
Jump to Header Jump to Main Navigation and Secondary Navigation Jump to main content Jump to Footer

Providing opportunities for children to grow and learn

Child Development Center

Open to the community, Chemeketa's Child Development Center provides childcare and for kids ages 2 1/2-5 years.

Child Development Center

Chemeketa's Early Childhood Education Program has operated the Child Development Center lab school on the Salem campus since 1972. The Child Development Center is open to families from the community as well as Chemeketa students, staff and faculty.

Fees

  • Half-day program $18.85 a day
  • Full-day program $31.15 a day 

Hours

  • Half-day is 8 am-12:30 pm
  • Full-day is 8 am-5:30 pm (9 hours)

Enrollment

Please contact the Child Development Center at 503.399.5107 or email for enrollment information.

CDC @ Home

The Chemeketa Child Development Center is now providing Preschool and Kinder Support virtually. Our Preschool at Home program provides parents with customized resources and play-based activities designed by an instructional specialist to support them in preschooling their children from home. The Kinder Support program is a place where parents with Kindergarten aged children work directly with an instructional specialist to implement their child's curriculum in play-based way. Both programs offer weekly virtual group and music times for children. Please contact us today to register!

Our Philosophy

In a warm, supportive and respectful environment, the Child Development Center provides opportunities for all children to grow and learn cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally as individuals and as members of the group.

A supportive environment allows children to develop individually as they form relationships with other children. Our philosophy is based on the concept that knowledge is constructed by the child through her or his interactions with both the physical and social world. This concept is central to the dynamics of our program because it puts the children, their ideas and explorations as the pivotal points in the classroom. Thus the environment says, "Yes, you can be successful."

  • Encouraging children & parents

    Another important aspect of the CDC is to encourage children to become creative, critical thinkers and to become problem solvers socially. Our program is committed to the belief that all children and families bring value to the overall program, and we work to create an inclusive environment that respects all families' socio-economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We encourage parents to play active roles in their children's learning through opportunities to meet with teachers and participate in the center in a variety of ways.

  • Honoring children

    For all children to explore both their physical and social worlds and for these characteristics to be honored; independence needs to be encouraged through choices, availability of resources and opportunities for self-reflection.

    We understand that young children in our care –

    • Become increasingly autonomous and independent, developing self-discipline and responsible judgment
    • Experiment and build theories constantly testing ideas about their world
    • Learn in an integrative manner without leaving their emotions behind while working with pattern blocks, nor do they abandon intellect to problem-solve social issues
    • Grow intellectually, socially and emotionally from their interactions with others

    Children need to develop an awareness of how their actions affect the environment and others around them. They need to be given opportunities to both share their feelings and to listen to the feelings of others. Self-directed play in a social context provides children with diverse abilities and disabilities integrated opportunities to share ideas, express themselves, listen to others, reflect upon their own ideas and feelings, and to negotiate and cooperate. The staff at the Child Development Center conscientiously strives to honor all these values and goals for young children as we support the whole child within the family.

  • The Teacher's Role

    The teacher's role is to thoughtfully and responsively facilitate children's interactions with their social and physical environment. Our program strives to provide children and families with numerous opportunities to develop nurturing and trusting relationships with each other and with the teachers; such relationships are important to creating an atmosphere of unity and problem-solving.