Staff
Members of the Childs-pace staff are experienced professionals. Our team is required to attend seminars and training workshops constantly to improve their skills. All staff members meet the requirements of the California Department of Education.
The Childs-pace program is offered at three Orange County sites- Costa Mesa, Buena Park and Anaheim. The California Department of Education, Child Development division provides much of our funding; the communities served provide additional support.
DIRECTORS BIOS:
“I MADE MY WAY TO CHILDS-PACE IN MAY 1980.”
John LeVere, Executive Director
As Executive Director of Childs-pace I would like to welcome each of you to “our home.”
I say “home” because Childs-pace has been a place of serenity for many families over the years, not to mention all the staff who have passed through its doors as a stepping stone to continue their work with children.
The word Childs-pace has become synonymous with quality child care in Orange county and with the Department of Education, Child Development Division in Sacramento. Our reputation is appreciated and offers us incentive in our daily matters and as we try to expand the program.
After more than 20 years as an employee of Childs-pace, I still look forward to the changes of tomorrow and the understanding from the past. I still laugh at the same jokes that were told twenty years before. I still dry the eyes of the children whose feelings have been hurt. I still tell stories like Uncle Remus. You see, I love the city of Costa Mesa that I have chosen to be my home. The people who make up that city, and the children who run it make it a great place to call home.
Yesterday, in one of the local stores, a young man asked me if Gilly Monsters were real. As I looked at him questioningly, he asked me if I remembered him? As children who come through Childs-pace grow older, they become a working member of the community. I could talk about child growth and development, but I’d rather have you look or hear about those who have grown up in the Childs-pace family and see what great citizens they have become.
The Childs-pace family will always remember its children. We will always create “a place to be free, to be you and me.” Welcome to our family, the Childs-pace family.
“THE FUTURE IS OUR FUTURE.”
Michael Perez, Cerritos Site Supervisor
As the site director of the Childs-pace program at Cerritos Elementary School in West Anaheim, I am fortunate to work at the neighborhood school my youngest son attends. Prior to joining the Childs-pace family, I worked at the same site when it was under the Orange County Department of Education. My first son attended the same school from kindergarten through sixth grade. In all, I have taught and mentored at Cerritos Center for 12 years. I have deep roots in my community, and it is this sense of community that
I would like to share with you.
We need to invest in our future, which means we need to invest in our children.
Their future is our future. Future members of our communities are less likely to be on welfare, or involved with drugs or gangs, or drop out of school, when they attend good
pre-school and after school programs. They are more successful in school. They develop a stronger sense of civic duty and pride. They are more likely to continue their education beyond high school. They learn concepts like responsibility, stewardship and
self-discipline. These are all of the qualities that make for citizens of character.
The family is still, and always has been the basic and most important social group of any society. Each day a child attends an enriching children’s program is a day that a mom or dad can go to work and be productive, confident in the fact that their child is safe and well. People striving for higher education, or professional and social mobility, are given access to those opportunities because of programs like Childs-pace.
I invite you to invest in our communities, whether by being involved as a board member, volunteer or sponsor. Please consider investing in our future today.
“CHILDS-PACE IS VERY UNIQUE”
Jacqueline Quezada, Costa Mesa Site Supervisor
I started working at Childs-pace, Costa Mesa, a little over a year ago. All I can say is that my job here at Childs-pace has been very fulfilling.
Working at Childs-pace is very unique since I have the privilege to see these children stay for the summer and return in the fall. It is a first-hand experience to see each one of them grow and mature in their own way. This is very different than teaching at an elementary school where the children leave after a year in class. The children seem like a family to me. It is very rewarding to see how these children develop. It is also a pleasure to know the parents of all these children and to help out and give them my support in any way I can. I have worked with the children for many years. After earning a degree in Child Development, I feel very comfortable working here at Childs-pace. Caring and nurturing is what Childs-pace is all about.
