With a playground and children running about having fun, El Camino’s Child Development Center (CDC) is essentially a school within a school.

“The CDC provides child care for children of the students first, and the community second,” Sandy De Mos, Director of the CDC, said.

The CDC is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, which means that it is a full-fledged preschool which is open to the local community as well as students.

The CDC is one of only two accredited child care institutions in Torrance.

Only 8 percent of institutions similar to the CDC have accreditation nationwide, De Mos said.

It is open Monday through Friday from 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and serves children who are two to five years old.

Potential patrons of the CDC may choose to leave their child there for every day of the week at a discounted price, one day of the week, or any combination there of.

There is a discount for El Camino students enrolled in at least six units, and there is also a particular state preschool program provided, which is funded by the California State Department Of Education and is free to students who are eligible.

“Eligibility for enrollment is determined by household income and state preschool guidelines. This program only serves children who are three and four years old,” according to the CDC Web site.

Considering that the CDC is located across Redondo Beach Boulevard, in the corner of Lot L, many students may not even know that it exists.

“I don’t know where the CDC is, and I didn’t even know that we had one,” Dylan Pomerleau, 19, undeclared major, said.

In addition to the CDC serving as a preschool that is both fee based and free, it is also a place where students with the appropriate majors can observe young students and implement ideas learned in the classroom, specifically early childhood education majors and students in the nursing program, said De Mos.

All of the teachers’ assistants that work at the CDC are students who have taken 6 units of childhood education.

“Having assistants who have had prior experience and training is one of the major benefits of the institution being here,” De Mos said.

Currently, there are 86 students enrolled at the CDC, which is approximately how many students the CDC is licensed to handle.

Since the primary function of the CDC is to serve as a center for students to leave their children, the center has an open-door policy.

“Having an open-door policy means that students can drop by at any time to visit their children, which is great for students who have a break in between classes and would like to see them,” De Mos said.