For those who work and attend school, the task of parenting may be helped by EC’s Child Development Center, which assists students and the community.

Sandra P. De Mos, director of the Child Development Center, said the teachers tailor activities to engage children in building their motor development skills as well as labeling items such as chairs, doors and tables, so that they have exposure to letters and numbers.

“We operate on a development model. Students choose their own activities and we feel children learn through play and they will gravitate to whatever interests them,” De Mos said. “So there are a lot of different activities out on a regular basis that they are exposed to.”

Leesa Lund, former EC student and mother of five children, enrolled her daughter Olivia when she drove by the Center three years ago.

After enrolling Olivia in the program, Lund said she noticed a difference almost instantly in her daughter.

“I fell in love with the program because she blossomed in it academically and with her social skills and self confidence,” Lund said.

The Center, founded in 1993, has a fee-based program which accepts children ages 2 to 5 if they are completely potty trained. There is also a state-funded preschool program for low-income households, which accepts children at age 3.

Children enrolled in the state-funded preschool are there for three hours: a morning session and an afternoon session.

Students enrolled in 12 or more units receive a 20 percent discount from the $125-weekly fee, paid in part by a four-year grant – Child Care Access Means Parents In School or CCAMPIS.

It also works with CalWorks, which fully funds the child’s tuition, if that parent qualifies, and it trains students from the Early Childhood Education Department.

“We set up times for them to come and set up observations,” De Mos said. “Students work and get volunteer hours which are required in a state-funded programs.”

For those who are not looking for relief every day, the Center has hourly rates and every-other-day situations. The Center also leases space to the County of Los Angeles for a program that tends to the needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing and are included in regular classroom activities.

“You see, I have high-energy children and it has to be directed in a positive way somewhere and they’re very strong about respecting people and their differences. They don’t (celebrate) holidays. What they do is, depending on your culture, like, for instance, they’ll do something that (correlates) to Korean or African cultures and they dress accordingly,” Lund said.

For the children who will be attending kindergarten in the fall, the Center conducts a graduation or “cross bridge” ceremony.

“The graduates from each class are called up and the teacher greets each child on one side of the bridge-, and the child crosses the bridge and the parent greets the child on the other side,” De Mos said. “It’s a great place to work. It’s great to see children who’ve graduated from this program come back to visit with their families.”

Parents who are interested in enrolling their children in the Child Development Center may obtain more information by calling De Mos at (310) 660-6542.