Vision
We provide leadership to improve and sustain the quality of early care and education for young children and their families, and support our members' professional growth and development.

Mission
CCAEYC is committed to excellence in early care and education from birth to age eight.

Greetings,
As President of the California Cascade affiliate of the California Association for the Education of Young Children, I want to share with you my thoughts on the importance of belonging to this association.

As a young teacher I joined CCAEYC at the urging of my college instructors and have benefited over the last 20 years with the latest research in the field of child development.  I learned about leadership through participating on committees and by joining the Board of our chapter when I wasn’t even sure what I had to offer to this organization. 

Now, 20 years later, I can still say that NAEYC and our California AEYC associations are on the forefront of public policy, curriculum, ethics, research, and best practices.  What we can all do is take advantage of this organization to become more involved and connected in the field.  Many of my mentors are still in leadership positions in AEYC and I have always felt camaraderie with others in this field.  My hope is that everyone will feel welcome and comfortable at our meetings.  We are an organization built on relationships and I hope you will consider that this association is much more than just information; it is a connection to dynamic folks who care deeply about the future for young children. We hope you will consider “belonging” too and joining us.

Kathy Thompson, Assistant Superintendent
Early Childhood Services
Shasta County Office of Education
President, California Cascade