River Valley's mission is to be a leader in providing high quality early childhood care and education services for children, families, and communities.

Our commitment is:

• Safe, nurturing, and inclusive learning environments

• High standards of professionalism and practice

• Resources, support and opportunities

River Valley Child Development Services was established in 1971 as the Region III Early Childhood Demonstration Center, a component of a statewide system of regional early childhood centers.  The purpose of the regional early childhood center was to demonstrate appropriate programs for preschool systems.  In Region III, centers were set up in Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason and Wayne counties the first six months.
As counties began operating their own kindergartens, the agency began branching out into other service areas. 

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WHY HIGH QUALITY CHILD CARE??

Research has proven that 90% of all brain development happens in the first three years of life, providing an unprecedented window of opportunity to shape the capacity of our state's future citizenry.

It is a classic case of pay now or pay  later. Children enrolled in quality early childhood programs are more likely to graduate from high school, complete college, stay at a good job, buy a home and raise a healthy family.

Children without these opportunities however are more likely to require expensive remedial education programs, drop out of school, rely on social services and have less productive futures. This results in an increased burden on all West Virginia taxpayers and continues to strain the resources of our small state.

An early learning investment has been documented to save $7 for every $1 that society spends. Yet, less than a third of West Virginia's children benefit from early care and education. And, for the children who do attend these programs, a quality environment is not guaranteed.

 

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   For more information email:
Suzi Brodof (Executive Director) sbrodof@rvcds.org

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