The Creative Center for Childhood
Research and Training, Inc. (CCCRT)

The Creative Center for Childhood Research and Training, Inc. (CCCRT) is co-located with the Creative Pre-School. The Creative Pre-School program is used as a lab school for training and research conducted by consultants from CCCRT in coordination with Creative Pre-School staff.  CCCRT consultants tour over 3,000 interested adults through Creative’s model program each year.

CCCRT offers educational resources, professional services, scholarly publications and state-of-the-art  training to adults working within the field of early childhood education and care.

The goals of CCCRT are to provide training and conduct research that focuses on the development of young children with and without disabilities, create high quality early childhood programs, and teach others how to organize early childhood programs for excellence.  Through over 20 years of research and 30 years of direct experience with young children, the staff at the Creative Pre-School and the consultants for CCCRT have perfected The Creative Pre-School Model Program Curriculum, Beyond Centers & Circle Time:  Scaffolding and Assessing the Play of Young Children©.

Board of Directors

Susan C. Brooks
Executive Director, Creative Pre-School
Chair, CCCRT
Child Development Specialist

Pamela C. Phelps, Ph.D.
Owner, Creative Pre-School
Vice-Chair, CCCRT
Early Childhood Consultant

Mary K. Eckhart
Secretary/Treasurer, CCCRT
Administration

Louise Boothby-LLorente, Ph.D.
Special Education Consultant
Board of Directors, CCCRT

Laura L. Stannard, Ph.D.
Kindergarten/School Readiness
Literacy Consultant
Board of Directors, CCCRT

Credentials

CCCRT’s chair, board of directors, and consultants offer over 150 years of combined experience in the fields of early childhood and exceptional student education. They have devoted their lives to improving the care, education and development of young children.

CCCRT's chair, board members and consultants share the following beliefs: 

• Young children learn best through play.
• Well-equipped and pre-arranged environments organized by teachers who understand child development and know how to scaffold children’s learning are what is needed to support the education of young children as they move towards success in later school.
• All children, with and without disabilities, deserve to be nurtured, educated and supported through a fully inclusive play-based environment.

The CCCRT chair, board members and consultants have worked together for over 20 years and remain committed to research and training focused on the variables that define quality early childhood programs. CCCRT consultants have made a significant impact in communities throughout Florida, Texas, Alaska, Hawaii, Kentucky and Indonesia.

All consultants are members of national and professional organizations as well as  local, state, and regional affiliate groups including the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the Council for Exceptional Children/Division of Early Childhood (CEC-DEC), the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Zero to Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families.

"There is truly no way
to capture in words all that you have done to make Tallahassee, the State of Florida, our country and our world a better, more loving, and more peaceful place.
With each little life that you have touched, each little mind you have mentored, you have profoundly impacted this world for the better.
We are grateful for you
every single day."

A message sent from
an Early Childhood
Educator