Edison Celebrates Week of the Young Child

Edison Community College President Dr. Cris Valdez signed
a proclamation designating the week of
April 6–12 as the Week of the Young Child at the College.

The Child Development Center at Edison Community College joined the National Association for the Education of Young Children from April 6–12 in celebrating The Week of the Young Child.

The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the event is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

“Although we build early childhood awareness during the school year through a variety of activities, we traditionally plan special events during the Week of the Young Child each year,” said Kelli Gerlach, Child Development Center Director. “The purpose of these special events is to further promote the importance of the early childhood years.”

To kick off the week, President Dr. Cris Valdez met with the children and signed a proclamation declaring April 6–12 Week of the Young Child at Edison.

“In addition to the proclamation ceremony, we hosted a Scholastic Book Fair and organized a month-long reading campaign to encourage parents and community members to read to the Edison children,” added Gerlach. “The campaign has been so popular that we have extended our reading invitation into the month of May.”

Throughout the week, students of the Child Development Center had special guest readers each morning, made special crafts, and participated in a fiesta night where families of the children were invited to campus.

“Students of the Early Childhood Education program taught the children a Spanish song and hosted a fiesta night this week as well,” said Gerlach. “We are grateful for the support of our college students, our family members and our community.”

Edison’s Child Development Center is a developmental program of care and education for children ages three to ten years. The program is open to the children of local communities as well as to children of Edison students, faculty and staff. Earlier this year, the highly acclaimed Center was once again granted five-year approval from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).