Impact the Future...Support an Aspiring Educator

Enhancing A Quality Childhood Program...That Impacts the Futures of Many...

As a demonstration site for developmentally appropriate care and education, the Child Development Lab (CDL) is an immersive learning environment designed to educate young children and concurrently prepare aspiring early childhood professionals with the skills needed to enable them to help shape the future. By giving today, you will help us overcome recent funding cuts to our student educators and empower us to continue to support them at our current level. Your gift allows the CDL to continue to provide both the “direct practice” learning opportunity and “on-the-job” training for our cohort of 40 student early childhood professionals.

Continuing to Catalyze for Social Change...

Every year more than 40 undergraduate students are employed to assist our CDL professionals impact these young people's lives. Through their experience, our early childhood professional's learning is evidence-based and developmentally appropriate, preparing them for success upon graduation and becoming the next generation of early-age professionals in your local community. The unique nature of our student’s experience is that they learn by being physically in the 'classroom,' receiving direct guidance from the CDL staff and the top faculty and researchers within the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. Our students learn the fundamental skills and information needed to work professionally with children. Although the CDL provides support for our undergraduate students who work directly with our children, funds for this program have decreased while expenses continue to rise.

How Your Support Directly Empowers our Early Childhood Professionals...

In a lot of ways, the CDL showed me what I want to do in the future. It has helped me relate content from my classes to real life scenarios that I experience at the CDL and it has made me a better student overall.  -- Madi; Family and Human Development

I walked in and began to use the skills I gained from the CDL.  I’m miles ahead of where I should be, all thanks to the CDL.  -- Sam; Physical Education

The CDL has helped me feel a part of the ASU community and realize I want to have a career involving children. -- Carol; Child Development and Women and Gender Studies

I can constantly apply what I learn in my classes to my work and it helps me understand some concepts when I see them firsthand.  I now have enough experience to help me get other jobs or internships down the road. --  Annie; Family and Human Development

Before the CDL, I was in a Science and Health exploratory major because I wanted to be a PA, however, after working at the CDL I realized I really wanted to pursue a career in early childhood education, so just recently I transferred to the Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College to find a career in that field. -- Madison; Early Childhood Education and Special Education

The Child Development Laboratory (CDL)

As a model of high-quality developmentally appropriate early childhood education and care, ASU’s Child Development Laboratory provides a rich learning environment for young children, ASU students, and early childhood professionals from the Greater Phoenix metropolitan region. The CDL provides full-day care for children ages 20 months to five years. Our staff offer opportunities for supervised learning activities and internships, as well as student employment, for ASU students pursuing careers working with children and families. The CDL supports ASU’s commitment to social embeddedness and outreach by providing training and technical assistance to local and state early childhood education and infant mental health professionals.