The Child Development Center on Barksdale AFB specializes in child care for children who are six weeks old to five years of age. They are one of only two programs in Northwest Louisiana who are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The CDC utilizes current early childhood research and follows the Creative Curriculum which is proven to meet each child's developmental needs and prepare them for kindergarten. Parents can take comfort in high staff to child ratios and in staff members who have been through extensive background checks. The CDC offers a Part-Day Enrichment Program, which provides preschool up to five days a week for children 3 to 5 years of age.
Exacting training and testing standards mean the CDC staff is professionally responsible and held to a higher level of accountability than other programs. Frequent inspections, including DoD unannounced, monthly and annual comprehensive health, safety and fire inspections, multidisciplinary inspections and NAEYC accreditation, assure Barksdale's CDC standards meet rigid AF criteria. Parental satisfaction is clearly evident from ICE responses, customer comments to local surveys and discussions between parents and program management. Most of the teachers have been with the program for ten or more years while some off base centers, with lower pay scales, may have very high staff turnover. The Air Force believes it is important for children to be taught by the same person from day-to-day so that person gets to know the children and establishes an emotional bond with them.
There are two CDC locations, East and West, on Barksdale AFB.
Source: Barksdale Life Website
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