About CCSC

Overview

The Children’s Center of the Stanford Community (CCSC) provides child care for children 8 weeks to 5 years of age.

A parent-teacher cooperative, CCSC is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). CCSC provides child care for the children of Stanford staff, faculty, academic staff, and matriculated students with full-time status at Stanford.

Parent participation has been an integral part of the CCSC program since it began in 1969 and is still strongly encouraged, although a non-cooping option is available. Co-oping parents assist the professional teaching team in each classroom in creating a nurturing and engaging environment for children. The comfortable partnership families develop with staff make CCSC a place where children develop trust and feel secure. Daily check-ins with families, classroom and center-wide social events and parent-teacher conferences further enhance communication between teachers and parents.

Craig Infant Program (CIP) and Teeny Kids’ Place (TKP)

Our infant and toddler programs provide a nurturing environment that encourages growth in all areas of development. Our program is based on a modified RIE approach with an emphasis in predictability and respect for the child. Within a predictable, individual rhythm of daily life (eating, sleeping, diapering, playing), children are free to explore. Trust and intimacy are best developed during routine caregiving. Our staff members give total, unhurried attention to each child. The child is encouraged to be an active participant rather than a passive recipient during these interactions.

We view infants and toddlers as self-learners and self-initiators. We provide an environment that is consistent and predictable, allowing large amounts of time for play. Finally, we respect children by allowing them to develop at their own pace rather than expecting them to meet developmental milestones on our timetable.

The Little Kids’ Place (LKP) and Big Kids’ Place (BKP)

For older toddlers and preschoolers, our philosophy remains the same. We strongly believe that exploration and experimentation are the most significant modes of learning and that child-initiated, adult-guided activities enable children to flourish. We place special emphasis on helping children develop increasingly complex social skills and encouraging them as they become members of a larger peer group. As they grow, children are given increasingly more responsibility for self-help and for helping others in their classroom community. They are free to choose from classroom experiences that include cooking, science/sensory exploration, blocks, manipulatives, writing, dramatic/imaginative play, art, dance, movement and music. The curriculum is dynamic and responsive to children’s emergent interests and ideas.

CCSC’s Relationship with Stanford University

CCSC is an independent, non-profit corporation founded for the sole purpose of providing high quality childcare for Stanford University students, staff, and faculty. CCSC has an Operating Agreement with the University, which is renewed every five years. The Operating Agreement is administered through the WorkLife Office. The University provides CCSC with its rent-free space, grounds and building maintenance, as well as the consulting services of the WorkLife Office. A University representative from the WorkLife Office is a non-voting member of our Board of Directors.

What to Look for in a Preschool Program

Check out this article from Edsource.org with some helpful tools for parents looking for a prechool program. The article features information about CCSC and comments from Stanford University education professor and early childhood education expert Deborah Stipek.