The Discovery Learning Center at PARC
The Discovery Learning Center at PARC also known as DLC, has become a cornerstone of the community ever since its humble beginnings when a small notice was placed in The St. Petersburg Times inviting parents of children with developmental disabilities to a meeting in the St. Petersburg City Hall. The DLC’s goal has been consistent with PARC’s founding purpose of inclusion and its commitment to bring dignity, respect and opportunity to all. For over 65 years, the Discovery Learning Center has been offering children a safe, warm, loving environment in which to learn and grow physically, emotionally, creatively, intellectually, and socially at their own pace. At DLC we help each child to increase confidence and self-esteem by treating each learner as a unique individual with unique capabilities and unique self-expression. Our dedicated team of educators is committed to supporting each family as a whole, through our Food Program, VPK and ELC acceptance, on-site therapies, JWB scholarships, and possible transportation opportunities. Parents are our partners in education, and we believe strongly in maintaining open communication and parental involvement in our programming and care activities. We work collaboratively within our faculty, teams, parent body, and the greater community to ensure that each child’s experience at DLC, is the very best that it can be.
Psychologist Jean Piaget, said “play is a child’s work.” At the Discovery Learning Center we ensure that our students receive the highest quality programming by offering a child-centered and developmentally appropriate program for children birth-to-five years. By implementing the play-based framework of Creative Curriculum along with the Teaching Strategies Gold assessment tool, our highly skilled teachers use their own experiences, as well as the children’s interests, to adapt the curriculum to be unique to each DLC classroom. DLC learners engage in activities centered around stories, songs, math, fine and gross motor skills, circle time, science, music, theatre and arts/crafts. At DLC, it is our objective to prepare each child for his or her formative school years through early exposure to letters, numbers, colors, shapes, name recognition, and new vocabulary. We invite you to join us for a tour of our beautiful St. Petersburg campus and learn more about all the ways that our wonderful programs can support and enhance your child’s early learning experiences. DLC is committed to public health and safety and have made Virtual tours available by clicking Tour DLC or by calling the Center at 727-341-6913.
