Gadsden State is expanding the child development program to its Ayers campus

ANNISTON, Ala. (WBRC) – Gadsden State Community College is expanding one of its programs to address early childhood education needs. This comes as their child development program expands to the Ayers Campus in Anniston.

Ayers Campus Director Pam Johnson says she is glad the programs are back because they attract hundreds of students each year.

“As more people work, the demand for child development and child care increases,” said Pam Johnson.

Campus Director Johnson says the program closed during the time of COVID and restarted their child development program.

“During the COVID-19 crisis, as fewer people worked on-site and more people worked at home, enrollment and demand fell, particularly because many people did not want to work near people or children given the coronavirus crisis.” said Johnson.

A few years after the Corona crisis, the program was reintroduced to meet the demand for future teachers.

“Students leave the course with a wealth of knowledge that gives them great flexibility in the field they want to go into. Some of them may really want to focus on newborns, while others may prefer older students, more second and third graders,” said Hannah Badgett, child development instructor.

Now that more people are back to work, school officials say they have tailored the program to meet students’ needs.

“We are fortunate to have the flexibility to offer hybrid courses that allow students to be working and then receive coursework and classes in the evenings, allowing for work flexibility,” Hannah said.

The Ayers Campus currently offers two courses, but that number is expected to increase as additional courses are planned for the spring semester.

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