Contact: Judy Iannaccone
Director, Communications
Phone: (714) 480-7503
E-mail: iannaccone_judy@rsccd.org
March 3, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Recently Accredited Child Development Centers Are Part of Growing
Number of OC Preschools with Waiting Lists
(Santa Ana)—Recent research reported by the organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California
shows that 91 percent of Orange County public preschools have waiting lists. Studies show that
at-risk children without a quality preschool education are more likely to fall behind in school and
turn to crime.
Among the growing number of Orange County preschools with waiting lists are
Centennial Child Development Center, located at 2900 West Edinger Ave. in Santa Ana, and
Orange Education Child Development Center, located at 1465 North Batavia St. in Orange. Both
centers, recently accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC), were commended for providing a high quality program for young children and their
families. In addition, the centers on the Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College
campuses are pending NAEYC Accreditation.
The centers are two of the four child development centers that are part of Rancho
Santiago Community College District (RSCCD). All four centers, funded by the California
Department of Education, have waiting lists as high as 150. The centers serve the needs of both
students and the community with childcare. The centers are also lab schools where students
seeking a career in human development are trained. Fees are on a sliding scale according to the
parents’ income.
“We have doubled our services in the last five years, but there are many more children
who need to attend our preschools than we have space for,” said Dee Tucker, executive director
of child development at RSCCD.
According to Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, preschools save the public more
than $17 for every $1 invested—including more than $11 in crime savings. The organization also
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Preschool Waiting Lists
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found that children without a quality preschool education are less likely to graduate from high
school on time, more than twice as likely to become career criminals and four times more likely
to be arrested for drug felonies.
Two students who have attended RSCCD child development centers are Pablo Isais and
Mayra Aguilera. Isais was a student at Centennial Child Development Center and is now a
sophomore at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana. He is in honors and advanced placement
(AP) programs earning a G.P.A. above 4.0. Isais was also the editor of the school newspaper in
eighth grade and now serves as a tutor for the AP program.
Mayra Aguilera was a student at Orange Education Child Development Center and is
now a sophomore at Orange High School in the city of Orange. She has earned a G.P.A. of 4.0
and has received several awards for her involvement on the high school basketball team.
Aguilera was recently awarded a medal for high honors in academics as well.
The High/Scope Perry Preschool study on the long-term benefits of early education
programs found that preschool graduates had higher grades, greater social and emotional
maturity, greater academic motivation, on-task behavior, capacity for independent work, and time
spent on homework than children who did not participate in preschool. Preschool graduates have
a lower incidence of absenteeism/detentions, better self-esteem, more sports participation and a
lower incidence of drug abuse and delinquent acts. The study also followed preschool graduates
once they were out of school and found that they had higher employment rates and better
earnings, resulting in a lower incidence of dependence on welfare.
For more information about RSCCD child development centers, call (714) 480-7546.
About Rancho Santiago Community College District
Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of the
Rancho Santiago Community College District, which serves the residents of Anaheim Hills, Garden
Grove, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Villa Park. Both colleges provide education for
academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, and customized
training for business and industry.
Editor’s Note: To arrange for interviews with Mayra Aguilera’s mother Yolanda or Pablo
Isais’s mother Enriqueta, contact Judy Iannaccone at (714) 480-7503.
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