The Center provides a state-licensed, high quality program, offering pre-school programs and/or full-day child care under the direction of a well-qualified staff. All staff members are carefully screened and investigated before being hired. The staff consists of two full-time program directors, a lead-teacher for each class, and a few other part- time “teachers”. All of the teachers are hired based on their ability to teach and because of particular personality characteristics such as warmth, gentleness, a high motivation to work with young children, as well as for their experience in providing child care. The center’s different “classrooms” offer a developmentally appropriate program that seeks to meet each child’s individual needs according to his/her own growth and development. Age- appropriate developmental skills checklists are used as guidelines for preparing lesson plans and activities in each classroom and for establishing appropriate expectations. These checklists also serve as communication tools for teachers and parents at parent-teacher conference time, held at least twice per year, to enable awareness of each child’s progress and/or developmental needs.