East Arlington Child Development Center located at 2151 Browning Drive, Arlington, TX 76010, is slated to become Child Care Associates' second location to satisfy the criteria to apply for the designation of a recognized "Center of Excellence both statewide and nationally.

Our Goal is to complete the requirements by December 31, 2011 and observe this accomplishment with a ribbon cutting ceremony and facility tour for the local community.

The expectation for Centers of Centers of Excellence is to demonstrate excellence in the following areas:

• The effective use of self-assessment, community assessment and other program data to improve practices leading to positive child and family outcomes
• Implementation of innovative evidence-based curricula and teaching practices that effectively demonstrate school readiness
• Model collaborations with schools and community providers that provide a comprehensive, holistic approach to better meet the needs of children and families
• Creative learning opportunities that support the domains of learning and connect children with nature and their culture
• Effective system to remove barriers, increase participation and provide family support practices to address the needs of children and families experiencing homelessness
• Established relationships with health care providers that allow all families to receive ongoing medical, dental, and other special health care needs
• Established practices that are culturally and linguistically appropriate and lead to improved parent-child relationships, and the overall well-being of the child
• Proof of established public-private partnerships that leverage additional support for more innovative ways to serve children and families
• Established Learning Communities that support coworkers and share best practices for success in working with children and families and that impact competencies and performance of staff.

Additionally, Child Care Associates has gone a step beyond the criteria identified for recognition at the state level. Our strategic plan calls for several added features as described in the Child Care Associates branding concept, such as consistency in facility color schemes, name and logo recognition, location of required postings/signage, and several other visual features that help promote our quality services, as well as our presence in the communities that we serve.

Our ultimate goal is to produce positive, measurable outcomes for children's school readiness and success, while also promoting family involvement in the child's developmental learning process.