Our Mission

We provide young children with educational environments, in partnership with families and the community.

About Our Children’s Programs

Our child care programs offer a gently structured environment; each child’s day moves between times of free choice of play and activities to structured activities such as group time, meals, and rest time.

A variety of activities and projects are offered throughout the day such as science, cooking, art, crafts, music and movement. We offer a balance of stimulating and quiet activities that are appropriate to each age group and meet the social, emotional, and cognitive needs of individual children.

The centers maintain low teacher/child ratios of 1:8

Fees are based on a sliding fee scale. We offer subsidized care for families who qualify. Reimbursement is provided from the State of CA Department of Education, Child Development Division. The County of Santa Cruz and cities of Santa Cruz and Watsonville also provide funding, in addition to community donors and foundations.

Our Centers

Sycamore St. Child Development Center

Serving children ages 3-5 years
121 Sycamore Street, Santa Cruz 95060
(831) 454-9920
License #444400415

Nuevo Dia Child Development Center

Serving children ages 3-5 years
135 Liebrandt Street, Santa Cruz 95060
(831) 426-1236
License #444407562

Vista Verde Child Development Center

Serving children ages 3-5 years
1940 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville 95076
(831) 724-3749
License #444406684

Fairgrounds Child Development Center

Serving children ages 3-5 years
2601 East Lake Ave., Watsonville 95076
(831) 786-9496
License #444410610

Administrative Office Child Development Division

121 Sycamore Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 454-9920

Call our bilingual enrollment coordinator at (831) 454-9920

Our Goals for Children

• Foster positive self-concept
• Teach early literacy skillsTeach early literacy to children
• Develop desirable social skills
• Encourage children to question, make choices, reason, experiment
• Encourage language development
• Foster creative expression
• Enhance physical development and skills
• Develop sound nutritional, hygiene and safety practices
• Respect and value the broad range of human diversity
• Develop skill and independence in caring for themselves

About Our Staff

Staff meet a set of standards mandated by State Licensing and State Department of Education:
• Meet Early Childhood Education requirements
• CPR Certified
• Pediatric First Aid Certified
• Trained in Universal Health Precautions
• Complete annual continuing education
• TB tested and health screened
• Fingerprinted

Staff & Parents

• We support communication and continued learning in the lives of adults.
• We provide opportunities for staff and parents to learn, develop leadership skills, and discover each other's culture.

Volunteer Opportunities

We need your help to make our child care program as enriching and exciting as possible. Adults over 18 can volunteer in our childcare centers in a number of ways.

Volunteer with Children:

• Read books
• Tell stories
• Sing songs
• Do crafts
• Tell a story with puppets
• Set up a project
• Supervise a project
• Cook with a small group
• Sculpt with clay
• Plant flowers
• Lead a simple wood or carpentry project
• Take photographs

Volunteer with Teachers:

• Provide training
• Organize children's library
• Set up helpful systems
• Make things we need in the classroom
• Make labels for classroom
• Take video of the children to use as teacher training
• Set up computer training

Volunteer with our Director:

• Help find community donations
• Translate written materials
• Write a grant
• Organize a community visit to program such as Fire or Police Department