Diamond Street ECC is a 501c3 charity organization. Our programs provide a strong foundation of education for your child in their most critical years while providing convenient care for working families. We may also provide scholarships for families in need.
Vision Statement
We envision a community where Early Childhood Education is valued; families and teachers are supported; and children reach their full potential.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to support our community by providing nurturing, safe, educational childcare that emphasizes the worth and uniqueness of each child.
Values
Integrity - We seek to follow Christ’s example, creating an environment that empowers each individual to do the right thing.
Respect - We value each individual, accepting them for who they are and recognizing their strengths.
Collaboration -We welcome each person’s ideas and perspectives. Staff and families share expertise, information and resources to work towards a common goal.
Inclusion - We recognize and embrace the diversity of personalities, backgrounds, social experiences, races, and religions that makes each of us unique.
Kindness -We use our thoughts, words, and actions to encourage and uplift each other. We look for the best in everyone and everything, seeking peaceful interactions and conflict resolution in all relationships.
Excellence - We commit to the continual pursuit of the highest standards in Early Childhood Education. We successfully engage students in learning on their level and in their unique way.
Our History - A Short History of Diamond Street Early Childhood Center
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1969 a group of mothers from Akron Mennonite Church started a mom’s and child preschool time.
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1970 – the preschool opened to the public with 15 students and was named Diamond Street Pre-School.
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1988- In response to parent requests, a daycare center was opened and continues to operate in the church.
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1997 – An after-school program was opened and the name of the center was changed to Diamond Street Early Childhood Center (DSECC)
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2001 – DSECC opened a full-day, five-day-a-week private registered kindergarten. This program works in conjunction with the before and after-school program.
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2002 – DSECC became separately incorporated as a 501 c 3 nonprofit. It remains a mission of Akron Mennonite Church, but operates with a board of directors that includes church, parent, and community representatives.
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2004 – DSECC added Spanish instruction and also participates in the International Visitor Exchange Program sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee, which brings teachers from other countries to DSECC. These endeavors plant seeds of peace and help children celebrate diversity.
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2008 – DSECC earned a Keystone STAR 4 rating for its high quality program.
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2011 – DSECC opened a new site for kindergarten and school age children at 105 N 11th street in Akron.
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2012 – DSECC started a program, Early Childhood Innovative Connections, to bring independent ECE programs together to find ways to share administrative services.
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2013- DSECC earned NAEYC accreditation!
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2016 – DSECC expanded our classrooms at 1311 location and moved our kindergarten and school age back so that all our classes were under one roof. Also in 2016, DSECC was approved to house a state funded Pre-K Counts Classroom.
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2022 - DSECC expanded once again, adding an additional school age before and after care classroom as well as an additional Pre-K Counts Classroom.
Curriculum Statement
All of our programs use The Creative Curriculum®. The philosophy of The Creative Curriculum® is that young children learn best by doing.
The Creative Curriculum® is built on theories of development in young children, that all children learn through active exploration of their environment and therefore the environment plays a critical role in learning.
The goal of the Creative Curriculum is to help children become independent, self‐confident, inquisitive, and enthusiastic learners by actively exploring their environment.
The curriculum identifies goals in all areas of development: Social/Emotional, Cognitive, Physical and Language. The planned activities, the organization of the environment, the selection of toys and materials, the daily schedule, are all designed to accomplish the goals and objectives of the curriculum.
Faith Philosophy
DSECC Strives to provide a Christian environment constant with the Anabaptist mission of Akron Mennonite Church. Here children experience God's love through the warmth, respect and acceptance modeled by our teachers.
Children learn peacemaking skills through experience and intentional teaching as we guide them in social-emotional development. Bible stories are told to encourage each child's sense of wonder and to help them understand our world. Teachers model both reverence in meal time prayer and the joy we imagen Christ experienced when he interacted with children.
