Little Eagles Learning Center

Welcome to the
Little Eagles Learning Center

young children holding this is my lab signThe Little Eagles Learning Center (LELC) is an Educational Research Center for Child Development (ERCCD) on the FGCU campus accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The center nurtures and cares for the children of FGCU students and employees in a safe and lifelong-learning environment.  Affiliated with the College of Education, the center offers high-quality early care and education to 58 children between 6 weeks and 5 years old.

LELC In Action

Little Eagles Learning Center

An Educational Research Center for Child Development 

young child in a highchairThe Little Eagles Learning Center (LELC) opened on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers on June 24, 1998 as the Family Resource Center.  The center is one of 10 Educational Research Centers for Child Development in Florida’s state university system.

The LELC has maintained continuous accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) since 1999. The Center went through the process of reaccreditation in 2002 and 2007, 2016.

The primary purpose of the LELC is to provide the children of university students, employees and the community with high quality early care and educational experiences. The Center also serves as a practica site for students studying child development, education and a variety of the allied health professions.  The site also serves to fulfil the university’s service-learning requirement, a site for part-time student employment, and a site for research.

A second component of the LELCs mission is to provide students with hands-on learning experiences outside of the typical classroom setting.  The LELC partners with all of the colleges on campus to support class projects, observations, research and internships as appropriate to the discipline.  Please feel free to contact the Director for research requests.

young girl paintingThe mission and goals of the Little Eagles Learning Center are:

  • To promote the social, emotional, moral, cognitive, language and physical development of each child by:

— providing support and resources for families
— forming and enhancing nurturing relationships between each child
    and teacher where each child is cherished for his or her own unique
    qualities
— creating a rich developmentally and culturally appropriate curriculum

  • To build partnerships with families through mutual respect, open communication, and opportunities for active participation.
  • To facilitate interactions between and among families.
  • To model, convey and promote high quality developmentally and culturally appropriate practices in early care and education to families, professionals, and the community-at-large.
  • To create a nurturing and responsive environment that provides resources and supports the personal and professional growth of the Center staff.
  • To provide university students with opportunities for observation, class projects, research, and internships as well as civic engagement.

 Adopted by the families and staff of the Family Resource Center on January 29, 1999, and revised in 2017.

young girl watering plantsFull-time care is offered year round, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

We encourage parents to leave enough time at the end of the day to communicate with the staff about the events in the child’s life at home, as well as to hear from the teachers about the child’s day at the Center.

teacher feeding a young babyThe Little Eagles Learning Center maintains a staff of 8 full time teachers. In addition we hire students to work part time in classrooms as Student Workers. All paid staff complete the state mandated level 2 screening.

Employment opportunities are posted on line through the FGCU Human Resources Department.