The following statements represent the mission, vision, philosophy, and goals of the Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) department and what we want our students to achieve during their program of study at Chattahoochee Technical College.

Our departmental mission is to provide pre-service and currently employed early childhood teachers access to high-quality, accessible and affordable educational programs (certificate, diploma, and degree), and, for their field work, access to quality, nationally accredited and state licensed developmentally appropriate programs for young children ages birth – eight in both child care programs and in elementary schools.

Our departmental vision is to ignite the potential that is present in all Early Childhood and Education students through excellent instruction, concrete learning activities with ample opportunities for demonstration and practice, and quality field experiences, thereby empowering them and building their self-confidence to positively impact the lives of children and families, educational environments, and the greater community by:

– Valuing the contributions of both men and women to the field of early childhood care and education.
– Valuing the uniqueness of every child.
– Using tools and resources to establish and maintain appropriate learning environments that guide and support the development of all children.
– Honoring the histories, cultures, and collaborative relationships of children’s first teachers: their families.
– Working in collaboration with community field work sites in order to increase career choices and to continue to improve quality of child care programs.
– Using their knowledge of ethical and professional standards and organizations to guide their behavior and support their roles as continuous, collaborative learners.

Our departmental philosophy supports both our mission and our vision for student learning. We believe:

– As all children can learn, all adults can learn.
– As every child is an individual and deserves individualization in instruction, so do our adult students.
– As children’s learning is grounded in and supported by warm, supportive, nurturing relationships, so is the learning of our adult students.
– All quality early childhood education is supported by an understanding of child development.
– We, as faculty and mentors, make a positive difference in the lives of our students, and our students will make a positive difference in the lives of the children and families they serve.