Laguna Technical College (LTC) is a private college about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and about six blocks south of Interstate 10. The college concentrates on training students for careers in early childhood education. LTC offers a professional preschool teacher program and is developing a medical assistant program.
The professional preschool teacher program concentrates on infant and toddler development and care. To successfully complete the program, students take a minimum of 15 hours of classes and 30 hours of externship in a supervised child care facility.
Areas that students concentrate on include safety for infants, licensing regulations, how to set up classrooms for children ranging from newborn up to 3 years of age, and child brain development and social milestones. The program teaches students how to use positive discipline techniques.
Classes emphasize educational theories and the cognitive, physical, and social development of children. Students learn how to create lesson plans, appropriate activities for varying development needs, and positive discipline techniques. Students also study preschool administration and management, so when they have completed the program, they are fully equipped to operate facilities for preschoolers, whether in private or public settings.
To enter LTC, a student must be at least 18 and hold a high-school diploma or its equivalent. The admissions officers at LTC evaluate any college-level coursework that the applicant has completed and adjust the student's course of study appropriately.
Laguna Technical College also offers continuing education workshops for teachers who need to accumulate additional credits to maintain or expand their teacher certifications. Topics covered in workshops include guidance and discipline, and child health, safety, and nutrition.
The Community Care Licensing Division (CCL) of the California Department of Social Services licenses and oversees daycare and residential facilities for children in California. Currently, CCL concurs that the professional preschool teacher classes offered at LTC constitute coursework that can apply toward qualifying applicants for state certification and licensing as preschool teachers.