MVCTC Early Childhood Education Program

Alexis Cusick, MVCTC Class of 2014 Early Childhood Education student from Vandalia.

 The Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) Early Childhood Education program teaches students about children from birth to school age. In this program, students develop lesson plans and put their skills to work learning to operate the MVCTC Preschool. They will gain an understanding of how children develop and how to incorporate the Ohio Department of Education preschool standards into their curriculum. Each student will be trained in CPR, First Aid and Child Abuse recognition/prevention and communicable disease recognition. This program will give the students the knowledge and foundation to become a teacher in the Early Childhood field.

As a junior in the Early Childhood Education program, students are introduced to how a preschool operates. They study units on assessing children, nutrition, child development, guidance and many more. Seniors continue to operate the MVCTC preschool, with activities that include art, science, math, writing, and language arts. Seniors complete a major project designing a plan to start their own day care center from the floor plan drawing to finalizing a business plan.

Students in the Early Childhood Education program will go on to work in child care programs and can earn their Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate. Many of the students go on to Sinclair Community College and earn their Associate's Degree and work as an early childhood educator. Others choose to complete a four-year degree in education, become nannies, teachers in daycare centers, teacher's aides, or home day care providers.


Over the past few years, the Early Childhood program has shown very strong data to support the level of academic challenge provided to their students. On average, 39 students are enrolled in the program each school year.

Based on the 2011 follow-up date (the most recent reported by the state), 94% of MVCTC Early Childhood students were employed, in the military, or enrolled in college or advanced training after leaving MVCTC. This program also reported 100% program completion.

Alexis Cusick, Class of 2014 Early Childhood Education student from Vandalia shared, “MVCTC has really prepared me for my future. I have learned so much in the past year and a half. When I attend college next year, I will be ahead of the other students my age. I will be graduating from MVCTC with a certification for CDA which is Child Development Associate. I will also be graduating with a total of nine Sinclair Community College credits. I plan to attend Sinclair and use the $3,000 Tech Prep Scholarship I earned as a MVCTC student.”

For more information about MVCTC, please visit www.mvctc.com.

For over 40-years, MVCTC has been providing career technical education for 27 partner school districts encompassing five counties, including Darke, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Warren Counties. MVCTC is dedicated to providing in-demand workforce training for youth, adults, and organizations in the Miami Valley.