Highly Qualified, Caring Staff Our Discovery and Kinderstart Lead Teachers have four year degrees in pre-primary/elementary and either have/have had a State Teaching License, or may have a MA in Education degree (completed or in process). They are early-childhood specialists, many with Kindergarten certification. The Explorer and Infant Lead Teachers have an Early-Childhood Development Associates Degree or a four year degree in a related-field. Children who attend Full Day programming receive 6+ hours of core-curriculum contact-time and activities with the Licensed Lead Teachers each day!
National Accreditation and Quality-Rating As an organization, Lake Area Discovery Center is proud to have earned NAEYC Accreditation, the mark of quality and excellence for early childhood education, since 2009. The program is also 4 Star Parent Aware rated; the highest quality rating possible. 
Flexible, Customized Schedules In addition to traditional preschool classes, a variety of options with our high-quality kindergarten readiness programs are available for families choosing us for their primary childcare needs. The day is divided into half-day blocks with wrap-around care available to meet the needs of families.
Childcare Days are offered during school-year breaks. Summer Camps provide on-going care options throughout the summer.
Faith-Based In addition to our weekly spiritual emphasis and daily prayer, lessons built on our Christian faith are written into our curriculum-lessons, including monthly Worship times and Holiday celebrations. Although the program is Christian-based, children of any religion and/or ethnic origin are welcome to attend.
Parent Education and Support We believe very strongly that the parent is the first and most important teacher! Parents are always welcome in our classrooms, and our early-childhood specialists are open to meeting outside of class to help with questions or issues.
There is a Health Consultant and Child-Psychologist on staff, available to help teaches and parents with questions and concerns. Speakers and parent social events are also provided through out the school year, at no additional cost.
Teaching to the Whole Child Our classrooms, curriculum and teaching approach is designed to meet the needs of young children. “I Can” statements that capture academic growth, social-emotional learning, feeling loved and valued as a Child of God; these are all important pieces to a child’s self-esteem, friendships and future success in school.
A Strong Curriculum and Student Assessment Plan The Discovery Center uses the Creative Curriculum model as the basis of our lesson and classroom design. Learning Assessments are continually tracked through teacher observation notes, the skills checklist, work-sample portfolios and the Developmental Continuum student packet.
Curriculum Highlights Handwriting Without Tears and S.T.E.A.M. concepts (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) are incorporated into daily lessons and experiences. Weekly Curriculum Highlights include: Spanish, Music, Library, Phy Ed, STEM/Science and more!
Teachers are trained through the Minnesota Department of Health to incorporate L.A.N.A Nutrition and CATCH Phy-Ed programs into our lessons. These special features of the curriculum provide exciting, hands-on experiences for children to enrich the Unit of Learning and to reach the learning objective goals for each lesson.
Community / Family Events Special events and celebrations, both during the school day and on weekends/evenings, are planned with our church and school partners through-out the year! Examples include Fall/Harvest Parties, Grandparent’s Day, Advent Fair, Christmas Program, Valentine’s Day, Easter-Egg Hunts, Graduations and more! Families often form strong relationships and continue friendships for many years.
Volunteer opportunities to help with these events are available and welcome!