Hamilton-White Child Development Center

The Hamilton-White Child Development Center is a place for your child to play, laugh, explore & love. Learning is what it is all about.

• Enrolls children from six weeks to four years old
• Operates on a 12-month basis in accordance with the University staff calendar
• Administered by a Director & supported by 12 staff members
• Employs 5 teachers, 5 assistant teachers & 2 part-time cooks for breakfast, lunch & snacks
• A teacher & assistant are assigned to each group of children
• The infant/toddler class has one additional assistant
• Staff members participate in workshops & in-service training sessions throughout the school year to complete 15 hours of staff development required by law per year
• All workers are considered teachers and are encouraged to design and follow an individual plan of study to gain knowledge and improve teaching practices
• Lab students in Child Development, interns, work study students, & graduate assistants also may be assigned to work with groups of children for short periods of time in the day. Students are never left alone to supervise children.
  • Children are placed according to chronological age and developmental level.
  • Infants and toddlers are housed on the first floor of the Ewing Hall. Preschoolers (3-5) are housed in Bailey Hall.

License

Hamilton-White Child Development Center is licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Periodic inspections are made by the Health Department to insure compliance with all health regulations and standards. An operator’s license is posted in the hallway at Bailey in compliance with guidelines from the licensing agency. A second license is posted in Ewing in the hallway next to the office of the Director.

Philosophy

Hamilton-White Child Development Center early childhood program is based on the belief that:

• Children learn best in a positive classroom environment, where teachers model consideration and respect for all and play is recognized as the child’s work.
• A comprehensive, age-appropriate curriculum provides learning experiences that promote children’s growth across a broad range of content areas with activities that foster social, emotional, physical, language, and cognitive development.
• Classroom materials and equipment should provide for children’s safety while encouraging exploration, experimentation, and discovery. Materials and equipment representative of the lives of the enrolled children and their families are to be readily accessible to children and changed over time to reflect current curriculum concepts and content.
• Knowledge of individual children is a necessary means for modifying strategies and materials to enhance an individual child’s learning. Children’s interest in and curiosity about the world encourages them to engage with new content and developmental skills.
• A carefully designed learning environment assists children in building independence, positive social/emotional regulation and communication skills.
• Children learn a sense of community when participating in decision making about classroom rules, plans, activities, and responsibility of classroom care.
• A positive relationship between teachers and families is a key component to a quality early childhood experience.

The HW CDC implements the research-based curriculum – Frog Street.  Using the thematic approach, a planned set of experiences, are designed to consider the interests and needs of children as a group and individually.

The center recognizes and supports the importance of play as the ideal learning environment for young children. Play is fundamental to a child’s development and learning.  The learning environment in all rooms is designed to give children opportunities to explore, investigate, and manipulate equipment and materials. Our curriculum is based on developmental research, which explains that an enriched environment takes advantage of the child’s endless capacity to learn. Children are given many opportunities to make choices, learn to solve problems, practice new skills, and work cooperatively with their peers.

The curriculum consists of units of study that are meaningful to children. Learning centers, classroom activities, and teacher interaction reinforce the objectives of each unit. Our program is strengthened by our relationship with Delta State University. As part of the university community, our classes have access to numerous places of interest throughout the campus as well as enrichment opportunities including performing and visual arts, musical performances, museum exhibits, and local artists.

The Mississippi Early Learning Standards and Guidelines provide the framework for all program curriculum.  The Mississippi Early Learning Standards are aligning with curriculum goals and objectives.  Child assessments, based on these standards and those of Frog Street, are used to support individualized learning and plan individualized activities as well as classroom observations and individual portfolios.

Each classroom (except the infant classroom) is set up with learning centers. Learning centers provide the students with opportunities for participation and social development as they explore each center together. Children are encouraged to visit each area daily.

• Art Center
  Provides opportunities for students to work with different media such as, paper, paint, markers, crayon, glue, scissors, pencils, etc. The process of working with the materials is what’s important, not the finished product. Teacher-directed and student –directed art activities are done daily. Art supplies are readily available each day for children to explore.
• Manipulative Center 
  Includes games, table toys, puzzles, etc. This helps to improve fine motor skills. Controlled movements of the fingers and hands help children to strengthen the muscles necessary for writing.
• Homeliving/Dramatic Center
  Allows children to role-play and explore through imagination. Helps children build vocabulary, as well as social skills needed for life.
• Literacy Center 
  This early exposure to books will help with pre-reading, vocabulary, and language skills.
• Block Center 
  This area helps children develop and control small muscles and fingers and hands. Children can learn to think, plan and solve problems.
• Science Center 
  Provides opportunities for cause and effect learning. Students can make observations, predictions, and try out possible causes. This area includes class pets, plants, sand/water and science manipulatives.

With the Director’s guidance, teachers use their knowledge of developmental levels to plan developmentally appropriate experiences to meet the interests and needs of the children. Not all children will be on the same developmental level. We accept each child where he is and build from that point. Lesson plans will be posted in each classroom.

Application Form

Applications for enrollment of children (6 weeks to 4 years) are submitted to the Director of the Child Development Center.

An incomplete application or one with incorrect information nullifies the application for enrollment purposes. The baby must be conceived before an application can be turned in.

Upon receipt, applications are categorized by the five room designations. Within each age category, applications are prioritized by the date of receipt. Priority is given to HW CDC staff, then to siblings of currently enrolled students.

There is a $15.00 fee to submit an application and have your child’s name placed on the waiting list. At this time, cash and check are the only forms of payment that are accepted.

In order to be admitted to the program, parents must supply updated 121 immunization forms and sign a program contract.

Contracts are valid for a full program year (August-July). A signed contract is an agreement to pay the program tuition in full.

Parents are given the option to pay in full at the beginning of the year, half balance by semester, or monthly installments over 10 or 12 months. Tuition payments are made by automatic bank draft around the 10^th of each month.