Behind gates that keep curious little ones out of harm’s way, the Coastside Child Development Center — formerly Coastside Infant / Toddler Center — just marked 30 years of caring for children from infancy to age 2.
It operates on the premise that getting ready for the future begins at birth, and that social and emotional development is a good predictor for school readiness.
 Roz Saxsenmeier raises a parachute to the delight of active toddlers Friday at the Coastside Child Development Center, where interaction and lots of healthy play are key to a child'€™s development. |
It began with the new name, adopted by the board in November.
“We wanted it to say that we care for more than infants and toddlers,” said center Director of Educational Programs and Development Maryann Kiesselbach. “We wanted it to say we’re involved with the development of children.”
The center began in 1978 under director Karen Quraishi, in one room at Cunha Intermediate School, as a mothers group offering daytime care for infants through 2-year-olds.
In 1993, it moved to the Redondo Beach Road site and now serves 45 to 50 families with infants from 2 to 12 months and toddlers from 1 to 3. Roughly one-third are low-income families with care or scholarships subsidized by center fundraisers like Bids for Kids or the Pillar Point Fun Run.
A staff of about 20 take regular college courses in early childhood education and are CPR-certified.
The long-planned expansion began with the January implementation of Project REACH, which provides supplemental services “based on what the family needs,” Corzine said. Those include early intervention, individual case assessment and management, parent education and resources/referrals for families.
The program works with “Adolescent Family Life” with San Mateo County Mental Health, to reach teen parents, and puts early literacy within REACH. “We make sure all the kids have plenty of books,” said Corzine.
Instead of an anniversary bash, staff opted to kick off the capital campaign.
With a total cost of campaign projects expected to reach $575,000, “we’re going to have a lot of grant-writing,” Corzine said. Other projections include $400,000 for a new building, $100,000 for a playground, materials and equipment and $75,000 for renovating an existing building.
To expand to serve children up to a kindergarten-readiness age of 5 or 6, renovation includes enlarging the toddler rooms into preschool rooms so that the main building will hold 32 children from 3 to 5.
Renovation also calls for the infant room to house the REACH project, with space where staff can meet with families.
Expansion also calls for a new, state-of-the-art building to house infant and toddler rooms. This should increase the center’s capacity by 30 children.
Also planned is a therapeutic preschool to serve abused or neglected children who need help to adjust to traditional preschool. Services include play therapy, behavior management or referrals.
It will not address physical special needs, but rather offer continuity, structure, stability and nurturance for children with social, emotional and behavioral issues.
“Our goal is a solid foundation,” said Kiesselbach.
To further underscore serenity by giving active tykes some place to decompress, an enclosed area in back will become a garden looking out toward the ocean. There are comfortable chairs and the sound of chimes from the nearby workshop of bell maker Silvio Modena. Paired with the playground with things to climb to use motor skills, this space will balance the inner child.
“It’s an area for kids to cozy up and get some quiet time,” said Kiesselbach.
Open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. to accommodate commuting parents, with no requirement that kids be toilet-trained, “we take children as they are and support them as they develop,” said Kiesselbach.
“I feel like we’re providing an excellent program for the community,” added Corzine.
More information can be found and donations can be made to the capital campaign through the center’s Web site of coastsidecdc.org.
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