About Us

NASA Goddard Child Development Center opened its doors in June of 1973, committed to the purpose of combining quality childcare with excellence in early childhood education. GCDC is licensed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) as a nonpublic nursery school with an educational program for children ages 2 to 5 years of age.

Located in Building 90 on the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) campus, GCDC can support 129 children. For the 2023-2024 School Year, GCDC offers seven classrooms: two Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms, one Preschool 4’s Classroom, two  Preschool 3’s Classrooms, two Preschool 2’s Classrooms.

The GCDC Mission

Mission

GCDC’s mission is to provide a developmentally appropriate early childhood program where children learn and develop in the following areas of development:

  • Social emotional: Through interactions with classmates and teachers, children learn to demonstrate a sense of self, and prosocial behavior;
  • Cognitive: Children learn problem-solving strategies, logical thinking, and representation and symbolic thinking through a variety of learning experiences in the language arts, mathematics, music, art and creative play;
  • Language: Children learn how to express themselves and improve skills such as listening and speaking, reading and writing and demonstrating and understanding of print concepts;
  • Physical: Children learn to control small muscles, coordinate eye-hand movements and improve large/gross motor skills.

GCDC seeks to empower all young children to become productive, enthusiastic and socially competent learners and to create a community of learners that bond among children, their families, the school and the community. 


Vision

We envision GCDC as a community of learners where children, parents, faculty, staff, and the GSFC community cooperatively and productively create a broad-based, developmentally appropriate learning environment for children. Members of the community support each other in their collective and individual efforts to develop the highest quality preschool program for GSFC civil servants and contractors.​  

Philosophy

GCDC’s philosophy is to meet children’s developmental and individual needs and to create a stimulating environment in which children learn through exploration and discovery; feel safe, comfortable, and have a sense of belonging; and learn and develop social-emotional skills through interaction with their classmates and teachers. As a result, children become more independent and confident learners.

GCDC provides a variety of intellectual experiences through participation in STEM, language arts, social studies, science, mathematics, music, art, creative dramatic play, sensory play, and physical development. Our teachers provide support, encouragement, and individual attention to facilitate learning that embraces each child’s strengths.

The operating philosophies or principles that guide GCDC internal conduct and relationship with partners, customers, and stakeholders are as follows:

  • Passion for Children: Serving children is our highest priority. We see ourselves as partners with parents to ensure high-quality education for children.
  • Respect for Diversity: We honor diversity and recognize that we are stronger when we are diverse. We strive to be culturally sensitive and to advocate equity and inclusion in all our work.
  • Excellence and Accountability: We set high standards for ourselves, use research-based best practices, and deliver on all of our promises with integrity.
  • Responsiveness: We listen to our stakeholders carefully and use their input to inform our actions.
  • Innovation and Collaboration: We seek new and better approaches to current and emerging needs. We know we are most effective when we work with others towards shared solutions.
  • Engaged and Talented Staff: We employ and invest in skilled employees who embrace our mission and deliver excellent services.