The Lucy Brock Child Development Laboratory Program had a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday to celebrate the opening of its new facility in the College of Education annex on Howard Street.

The program has been on Appalachian’s campus for 75 years.

“The program’s mission is to serve as a lab for students, as well as a state-of-the-art child care facility that is used by the children of faculty, staff, students and the community,” said Ellen Carpenter, the department chairperson of Family and Consumer Sciences. “Presently our facility is serving 38 children.”

The facility is a training site for students primarily majoring in child development and birth or kindergarten teacher education, said Cindy McGaha, the curriculum coordinator of the program.

In the 2011-2012 academic year, approximately 460 students worked with the program, McGaha said.

“Students completed approximately 6,335 hours [that year], either in direct contact with children in our classrooms, or in indirect contact through observation of children from our observation booths,” McGaha said.

The new facility, located in the former First Presbyterian Church, has two infant-toddler classrooms and one preschool classroom, McGaha said.

The program is open to children six months through five years of age.

“We have a threefold mission: To provide high-quality experiences for children and their families, to serve as a professional development site for individuals who plan to work with young children and to develop new and innovative practices in the field of early childhood education,” McGaha said.

Because of the large number of students in the program, employment opportunities for students are limited, McGaha said. There is currently a total of 16 Appalachian students employed by the program.

Story: NICOLE CAPORASO, Intern News Reporter