Academy Child Development Center, Gaithersburg

Academy Child Development Center, Inc. was founded in July 1981 as a not-for-profit educational corporation by Marilyn Fleetwood. As a mother and a public school teacher, Ms. Fleetwood wanted a high quality licensed child care for her toddler and infant but could not find a licensed center for children under two. An opportunity became available for rental space at a public school on Academy Way in Rockville, Maryland. Mrs. Fleetwood along with Ellen Goeden, the first Academy Center Director, hired the staff, organized the not-for-profit corporation, developed curriculum, and opened the first Academy on Academy Way on September 5, 1981, four days after Marilyn’s son was born. The Academy legacy has grown to be one of the most well respected, nationally accredited, state accredited and internationally known child care companies specializing in high standards and expectations for staff, students, and parents. Through competitive state and local bid Academy leases county facilities at seven (7) locations. In addition Academy has a freestanding child care facility. In 1991 Academy partnered with IBM via Work/Family Directions Corporation to build and furnish a child care facility on the campus of Stone mill Elementary School using IBM Funds for Dependent Care Initiatives. This facility was one of the first infant child care group centers in Montgomery County, Maryland. NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) accreditation was awarded to Academy’s Stone Mill Center in 1995 and DuFief and Cold Spring Centers in 2003 through 2015. Due to continued teamwork and commitment, MSDE (Maryland State Department of Education) Center accreditation was awarded to Cold Spring, Stone Mill, DuFief and Academy Hill Centers in 2005 and continuous re-accreditation awards. NAA (National After School Accreditation) was awarded to the school age programs at Academy’s Stone Mill, DuFief, and Charles Drew Center locations. ATI was developed over 10 years ago to provide approved training for child care workers. Approved Training Innovations has offered various trainings to parents and staff. Academy teachers and parents receive this training as a benefit to being a part of the Academy family. As we celebrate more than three decades of service, Academy continues to provide outstanding programs for over 500 Montgomery County families. We are proud of our dedicated professional staff, high quality programs, and our supportive families. Academy looks forward to the exciting challenges of being a recognized leader in the rapidly growing field of early childhood education. ACADEMY IS DEDICATED TO THE WORLD’S FUTURE – ITS CHILDREN. BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LIFE: -To offer developmentally appropriate early childhood– primary school programs. -To provide safe, healthy and reliable child care options for working parents. -To maintain a dedicated, professional staff through competitive salaries, benefits and ongoing professional development training. -To develop and maintain partnerships with parents, staff, community, local, state and national organizations. -Academy Primary School is dedicated to providing a challenging yet developmentally appropriate learning environment for children Pre-school through Second grade. By encouraging creativity, exploration and self-discovery, students learn beyond the academic day. -To prepare students for the educational challenges in their future academic endeavors. -Offer continuous care and education for working families who value a private school education but also need child care- Infancy through Primary School. -Develop a community for families where they can receive support and resources from Academy and from each other. Academy Child Development Center is a licensed child care center in North Potomac, MD with the license issued by the Msde. At Academy Child Development Center, we enroll children ages 4-5. We are open from 7:30am to 6:30pm. Please email us for more information.