Grand Rapids
Community
College
Fast Facts about GRCC
The first community
college in Michigan,
founded in 1914
 Located on 25 acres
in downtown Grand
Rapids

Fast Facts about GRCC
Educates about
24,000 credit and
non-credit
students annually.
 Students: Full
time: 43 percent
Part time: 57
percent

Fast Facts About GRCC

250 full-time
instructors and
350 part-time
adjunct
instructors
 President Juan
Olivarez
Child Development Department

Child Development
program began in
the early 70’s
through the Home
Economics
program.
 GRCC Laboratory
Preschool has been
in operation since
fall 1974.
Mission Statement

To provide learning experiences in the
classroom, Laboratory preschool, and
community that help students build the
knowledge, skills and dispositions they
need to meet children’s developmental
needs.
Theoretical Foundations:
The Child Development
Program began with a
constructivist approach
and has been influenced
by the theories of:
 Piaget
 Erikson
 Bronfenbrenner
 Vygotsky
 Gardner
Community Connections:
The Child Development Staff works closely with
its Advisory Committee which is made up of
community leaders in the Early Childhood
field, many of whom employ GRCC Child
Development Program Graduates.
Community and State Involvement
Child Development faculty are committed to providing
community and state involvement and leadership in
the field. This is evident by the involvement of staff in
external groups. Some of these include:
 the Michigan Early Childhood Professional
Development Consortium,
 American Associate Degree Early Childhood
Educators (ACCESS) Michigan affiliate
 Michigan Early Childhood Teacher Educators Affiliate
 Kent County Advocacy Coalition
 Childcare Expulsion Prevention
 4C Board
 Head Start Education Advisory Committee
GRCC Lab Preschool

Accredited by the
National Academy of
Early Childhood
Programs since
1991
 Provides a full-day
year round program
with five classrooms
Children at the Lab Preschool

Serves over one
hundred children and
their families each
semester
 40% of the children
have college student
parents (Funded
through Perkins,
MSRP and Head
Start Collaboration
grants)
Preschool Curriculum:
The Curriculum at the Lab Preschool is an
eclectic child-centered play based curriculum
with clear influences from:
 Constructivism
 Emergent Curriculum
 Project Approach
 Reggio
 Work Sampling Assessment
 EARLY Classroom Literacy Enrichment Model
Infant Room

Eight Infants from 6
weeks to 15 months
 Two Lab Instructors,
1 Assistant
 Students:
118 Human Growth
210 Infant/Toddler
Development
285 Cooperative
Work Experience
Toddler Room

Twelve toddlers
 Two Lab Instructors,
1 Assistant
 Students:
118 Human Growth
210 Infant/Toddler
Development
285 Cooperative
Work Experience
Three Preschool Classrooms

60 children aged 2 ½
to four
 Four Lab Instructors,
3 Assistants
 Students:
118 Human Growth
119 Preschool
Methods
285 Cooperative
Work Experience
Child Development Students







Associate Degree Students
 Child Development Associate Degree Students
 Paraprofessional Associate Degree Students
2-Year/Transfer Students
CDA Students
Grace College & Reformed Bible College Students
OTA Students
Elementary and Secondary Education Students
Students seeking education related to a specific content area
Child Development Faculty
Three Full-time Classroom Instructors
 Eight Full-time Lab Instructors
 Seven Adjunct Instructors teaching from
3-12 credits each semester (Most of the
Adjunct Instructors work full time in other
programs such as Child Care Centers,
Head Start, Elementary classrooms, or
other colleges)

Transfer Institutions

Western Michigan University GR- Family and
Child Studies
 Aquinas College and Ferris State University
GR – Elementary Ed. With ZA Endorsement
Articulation Agreements:
The Child
Development
Program also has
articulation
agreements with:
 The Ottawa County
Career Line Tech.
Center
 Kent Regional 4C
Increasing Numbers of Students
Child Development Enrollment
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Credits
1999-2000
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2804
2903
3200
3721
4295
Credits

53% increase in the last five years
 Fall 2004 enrollment is up 18% from Fall 2003
CD 105 Foundations in Early
Childhood Education (3 credits)
Developed in 2002 to meet the entry
level competencies in the Core
Knowledge and Competencies
Document
CD 105
Foundations of Early Childhood Education
Fundamentals of Child Development


CD 116 Families, Intimate Relationships and
Human Sexuality (3 credits)
CD 118 Human Growth and Development (4 credits
– 2 hours lab per week)
 CD 215 Adult-Child Interactions (3 credits)
Curriculum Development and
Implementation


CD 210 Infant/Toddler Development (4 credits – 2
hours lab per week)
CD 119 Preschool Methods (4 credits – 3 hours lab
per week)

CD 250 School-age Childcare also available
CD 119
Methods in Preschool
Education
Curriculum Development
& Implementation
CD 210
Infant/Toddler
Development
Curriculum Development
& Implementation
Specialized Curriculum and
Program Administration

CD 218 Preschool Management (3 credits)
 CD 260 Emergent Literacy (3 credits – 20 hours
tutoring required)
 CD 230 Young Child with Special Needs (4 credits
– 2 hours lab per week)
CD 218
Preschool
Management
Administrative
Skills
CD 260
Emergent Literacy
Specialized Curriculum
Development &
Implementation
CD 230
Young
Children
With Special
Needs
Specialized
Curriculum
Development &
Implementation
Capstone Experience

CD 180 for CDA Students
 CD 280/285 for Associate Degree Students
(CD 180 and CD 280 required 225 hours of
paid work experience at an approved site)
CD 180
CDA Cooperative
Work Experience
CD 280
Cooperative
Work
Experience
&
CD 285
Assessment
Tools
Capstone
Online Instruction:
GRCC offers the following courses online:
 CD 105 Foundations of Early Childhood
Education
 CD 118 Human Growth and
Development
 CD 119 Preschool Methods (Online
Hybrid)
Early Reading First Grant
EARLY is a collaboration between Grand Rapids
Community College, Grand Rapids Public
Schools, Head Start for Kent County, and
United Methodist Community House.
Early Accent on Reading and
Learning for Young Children
For more information:
Visit the GRCC website at:
http://www.grcc.edu/