The Widener Child Development Center is one of the hallmarks of our community outreach effort to create a learning environment that connects our curriculum with societal issues through civic engagement.
The Widener Child Development Center (CDC) offers unique daycare, preschool, transitional kindergarten, and kindergarten programs. Located on campus, our approach to learning—keeping with our Widener values—is about nurturing a child's intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development, as well as their individual creative skills.
With our staff of certified teachers, teacher assistants, future teacher candidates, and faculty members, we encourage learning through exploration and celebration of the arts.
Field Experience from Day One
The CDC offers you, our students, an opportunity for real-world internship experiences, regardless of your major. Students from our education, social work, physical therapy, nursing, and clinical psychology programs routinely participate in activities and work there.
As an education major and teacher candidate, in particular, you will start gaining field experience there as early as your freshman year. You will work alongside certified teachers and conduct classroom observations, lesson presentations, research, information sharing, and more.
Your experience at the CDC will prepare you for your future field placements and for your career as a teacher.
Resources for Parents
The Child Development Center provides engaging early learning opportunities for children ages 2 years, 7 months to 5 years old. Families can enroll children for the academic school year (September through June) and summer camp programs (June through August).
The Child Development Center has a four-star rating through the PA Keystone Stars and is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
By maintaining our STAR 4 quality rating, we give parents additional assurance that their children are in a developmentally appropriate and supportive environment. It also acknowledges the efforts of our teachers who strive to give even our youngest students a well-rounded education. Our approach to learning is to nurture a child’s intellectual, emotional, social and physical development, as well as their individual creative skills. — Dr. Noreen Yoder, director