Child Care - Individuals with Disabilities

A lead teacher in a preschool or day care setting is responsible for the academic and social-emotional growth and development of children in their care, who are usually toddler and preschool aged children. Lead teachers work with parents, administrators, and other teachers to improve students' experience and meet teaching objectives. Additionally, lead teachers plan, evaluate, and improve the physical environment of the classroom to create opportunities that meet the changing needs of the developing child.

This program prepares students with learning differences or disabilities for work as lead teacher or assistant in a day care or preschool. Students learn the theories of human development and physical growth along with family and diversity issues. Topics include applying theory to practical situations, major development in physical and psychological growth, and developmentally appropriate practice. Students will learn how to develop a unit plan, develop a lesson plan, create an effective classroom environment, and understand the cognitive and behavioral differences in stages of early childhood. This track provides instruction that is multisensory, multimodal, personalized, and incorporates elements of universal design for learning. Classes are taught with a low student-teacher ratio to better meet the needs of individual learners.​​

Students entering this program should have a desire to work with young children, strong verbal communication skills​, strong interpersonal skills, and be able to give and take direction well. ​

Lead teacher jobs can be found with for-profit and non-profit organizations. Additional career information may be found in Career Coach: https://ccbcmd.lightcastcc.com/.​

Program Course Sequence