MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- As Marine Corps cadences echo around the Depot, faint laughter resounds just beyond the recruit-training boundaries. While drill instructors transform men into Marines, another team of individuals nurtures the playful spirit of youth at the Child Development Center here.
For the past 25 years, the CDC has been caring for children of service members stationed in the local area, according to Carol P. Young, who has taught here for more than 19 years.
The CDC staff commits to being more than just a day-care center for the 2-to-5-year-old children in their charge.
"It's not a day care," said Young. "We're more along the lines of a preschool."
The teachers are devoted to preparing 65 children for kindergarten by teaching them the basic learning fundamentals needed in elementary school.
"Our job is to take care of the children when their parents can't be with them and help develop the whole child," said CDC director Maureen C. Richmond, whose daughter is among those at the center.
"Parents at work want peace of mind that their children are safe and well cared for," Richmond said. "We take care of that for them."
One of Richmond's most important goals is to make sure the children are learning while they attend the CDC.
"We help develop the whole child ... physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively," she said.
The playgrounds give the children an opportunity to challenge themselves physically and develop their growing bodies.
"We develop their social skills by helping them learn to share, resolve conflict and get through the beginnings of getting along with others," said Richmond.
The staff helps the children grow emotionally by teaching them to express their feelings positively and helping them adapt to spending time away from their parents.
"We help them get ready to learn in school," Richmond said. "In the basics, they learn colors and numbers. They learn to love learning, which helps get them ready for kindergarten."
The Depot's CDC is one of many in Navy Region Southwest, where all centers are logistically and operationally similar. The uniqueness of the CDC here is in its size.
"It's the smallest," said Richmond. "It has no kitchen because of its size, and we also don't allow children under 2."
The food for the center comes from the Naval Medical Center San Diego's CDC.
According to assistant director Shannon L. Morgan, the size allows them to be more like a family.
"It is more intimate," she said. "The children know all the teachers, and all the teachers know every child and the child's parents. There is a lot of bonding."
According to Young, children do better in a small environment because they are not lost in the shuffle of things.
The fact that the CDC staff's turnover rate is very low increases the center's efficiency as well. Two of the 10 teachers have been there less than three years, promoting consistency at the center.
The children know they will be back with the same teachers if they leave for a period of time, such as a summer vacation, according to Morgan.
The CDC strives to provide the best environment possible for its children, and that commitment helped the center earn accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children recently.
For now, as long as Marines continue to train here, children will continue to play here.