About Us
Good Child Development Center55 Years of Child Care Excellence
Good Child Development Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has been delivering excellence in early childhood education since 1969.
Our identity is more than shapes and colors, it is a promise. A promise to children, their families and the community to provide a safe, inclusive and enriching environment where children can grow into their best selves. We’re committed to stimulating and intellectually nourishing every child under our care, so they continue to become good children and grow to be good people.
We aim to be the second best place for your child, because the first is home with you. Since they will be exposed to us most of the day, it is our obligation to make their time here one they will cherish when looking back.
Our all inclusive approach ensures children from diverse cultures, backgrounds and financial standings can get to know and befriend each other. Our goal is to ensure low-income and struggling families have access to a high-quality education for their little ones, so they can feel supported to continue to work and provide for their loved ones.
We strive to prepare our children to be active participants in our community and ready for the expectations of society and public school.
Our Mission
The mission of Good Child Development Center is to provide a learning and developmental environment, using a global approach. This philosophy integrates the child, the family and the community.
Our Center Today
Today, Good Child Development Center remains a non-profit organization, governed by a Board of Directors. The program is partially funded by federal and state resources and is licensed by the State Department of Public Health.
Our staff includes an administrative body, head-teachers, teachers, teacher assistants, cooks and custodians. All teaching staff is experienced in early childhood education and goes through thorough background checks sanctioned by OEC.
All staff members participate in annual professional development training and are certified in First Aid and CPR.
To ensure families of all financial standings have access to our outstanding services, our program offers Sliding Scale Tuition and Care4Kids. Around 80% of our slots benefit from tuition assistance in one form or another. We are extremely proud to be an institution that embraces all families, regardless of income, affiliations, heritage or ethnicity.
Our History
When inaugurated in 1969, our center was known as Good Sheperd. It was a non-profit located below Wildermere Beach Congregational Church in Milford and created to support families who needed to return to work after the Vietnam war and needed financial support for childcare. The program’s sliding scale tuition allowed low-income families to offer early childhood education to their kids while earning a steady income.
As the center grew, Good Sheperd Daycare moved to St Peter’s Episcopal Church and opened a second location at the Woodmont United Church of Christ to serve a larger portion of the local population, and expand the program to more age groups.
In 2011, a grant made possible for both centers to combine and expand operations by creating a brand new building, specifically designed to be Good Sheperd Daycare Center. The edification is one of the first green buildings in Connecticut, and presents features that make it an ideal environment to teach children, like plenty of natural light, large areas for gross motor development, and a large outdoor setup for contact with nature.
In 2017, when Mr. Bill Okwuosa onboarded as CEO, the center’s name changed to Good Child Development Center, as the move to the new location moved the institution away from a faith-based curriculum. Today, our all inclusive center serves families in Milford and surrounding areas who joined our mission to provide their children with high quality and affordable early childhood education.