Our Philosophy
First Steps Child Development Center is founded on the belief that children learn through play and experiencing the world around them. Our students are exposed to a variety of learning experiences that contribute to the overall social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of each child. Our main emphasis is to educate and prepare our students to meet the challenges of a diverse world in a way that values and affirms the worth of each child. We wish to enable children from all backgrounds to feel respected and loved.
Our History
First United Methodist Church began a Nursery School in 1964. Over time the church also had a thriving Parent’s Day Out program. These two programs were part of a bigger Children’s Weekday Ministries. In the fall of 2001 these two programs merged into one unified and state licensed preschool program called First Steps Child Development Center. First Steps serves children 6 weeks-5 years old and has consistently received a 3 star rating from the Tennessee Department of Human Services since its inception. This rating shows that we strive to be the best and go far beyond the basic DHS requirements to provide families with top-notch, quality childcare.
Our Mission
First Steps is designed to be a place where children are cherished for their abundant zeal to learn, their creativity, their individuality and their desire to have fun. First Steps is a program where families are respected for their commitment and dedication to each other, to their community, to their traditions, to their heritage and to their faith. First Steps strives to be a program where staff are supported as they provide the highest quality in preschool education, by appreciating their skill, creativity, love and devotion to the children of our program.