2024: TEACHER EARNS HER CDA!





We are proud to announce Ms. Kristina Hilton, 3K teacher, earn her CDA September 2024.


CDA stands for Child Development associate's degree. This degree requires additional training over and above DHR's yearly requirement, supervised time in the classroom, evaluations from families, and an on-site evaluation from a qualified examiner.


This shows her commitment to the field of Early Childhood Education, the families of Discovery Island, and her students.


We are proud of the time an effort to which she made a commitment to obtain this certification.



DI RECEIVES A 4 STAR RATING!!





The State of Alabama's Department of Human Recourses in conjunction with the Department of Early Childhood Education recently designed a rating system for all licensed daycares denoting the quality of centers over and above the requirements and rules set forth by the department in the state’s Performance Standards for Daycares. Licensed daycares are automatically entered at a 1 STAR if they are licensed by the state and in good standing, meeting all the mandated requirements during yearly inspections.


Alabama’s rating system is known as the QRIS, which stands for Quality Rating Improvement System. It is a 1 – 5 STAR rating. STARS over an above the 1 are achieved by centers meeting additional requirements in areas such as teacher credentials, classroom environment, children learning activities, monitoring, and reporting children’s milestones and learning, and parent involvement and participation.


In June officials from the Department of Early Childhood Education spent two full days at Discovery Island inspecting records and observing teachers and children in the classrooms. When all the points were added it was discovered Discovery Island achieved the rating of 4 STARS! Currently (as of February 2024) there are only 4 centers in the entire county with a 4 STAR rating. One in Daphine, one in Fairhope, one in Bay Minette, and Discovery Island Child Development Center. This shows Discovery Island to be the highest rated center in the south half of the county and of an elite group in the whole county.


We are proud of our staff and their hard and awesome work as a team to achieve this rating!



2023: DISCOVERY ISLAND NOMINATED AS BEST DAYCARE AND BEST PRESCHOOL WITH BEST PRE-K TEACHER NOMINATIONS FOUR YEARS IN A ROW



Discovery Island, being recognized as a top child care source in South Alabama has had nominations in the categories of Best Preschool and Best Daycare 2020, 2021, and 2022 by both the Mobile based Lagniappe "Nappie Awards" and Baldwin County's "Best of Baldwin" yearly awards. In addition, Ms. Melissa was nominated as best preschool teacher in 2021 and 2022 by the Nappies. Both of these awards are nominated and voted on by the public and therefore recognizes Discovery Island's excellent reputation of their commitment to offering a superior experience for the children who attend and their families.



December 2022 -



Midterm First Class PreK Grants awarded by the Department of Education





December 2022 We are happy to announce that Discovery Island has received one of the midterm First Class PreK Grants awarded by the Department of Education. The State of Alabama has placed first in the nation for several years running as to the quality of this program. This grant allows Discovery Island to set up a PreK classroom similar to the PreK classrooms housed in the elementary school systems. With these grant funds the teacher in the PreK classroom is guaranteed to have their college degree in the field of Early Childhood Education. In addition a supplementary teacher is added in the classroom who must have a minimum of a CDA, which is equivalent to a two degree in Child Development. These funds are also used to completely re-outfit the classroom with all new furniture and toys in addition to new playground equipment. Participating in the grant comes with classroom management and teaching requirements along with a mentor from the state level to offer assistance and ideas. During the school year partial tuition for the classroom is covered by the grant. Any funds paid by the families are income based per the guidelines set forth by the State of Alabama.



DISCOVERY ISLAND FOCUSES ON ALL TEACHERS RECEIVING THEIR AELG CREDENTIALS



In the 2022-23 school year Discovery Island is focusing it's ongoing education plan for all employees to include each of them obtaining the Certification for the Alabama Early Learning Guidelines. In August five more staff members completed the three month course. And in September two more staff members will begin the course. Dedication to having all staff complete this credential reinforces DI's commitment to providing teachers of the highest quality for the children they serve. Teachers who have received their Credential are notated by the ALEG badge on their bio on the Staff page.



Alabama Department of Human Resources Develops New Early Learning Guidelines





Licensed daycares and preschools across the state now have new guidelines put into place for the care of young children. These new guidelines developed by the Alabama Department of Human Resources are a result of collaboration between DHR and various other child advocate offices and their representatives across the state including, but not limited to, the Alabama Head Start Association, State Department of Education, Alabama Partnership for Children, and the Office of School Readiness. These standards are a part of the national education reform effort where every state is required to develop statewide guidelines to promote early learning. Alabama’s Early Learning Guidelines are written to promote continuity of high quality care and learning for children form birth through five years of age. To receive Alabama’s Credential of Certification in these new standards, 18 hours of specialized training in each of the 9 categories of child development in these guidelines are required. On December 11, 2008, Melissa Callaway Moody became the first Preschool Director in Baldwin County to be awarded certification in this new State of Alabama Early Learning Guidelines. Ms. Moody has been the Owner and Director of Discovery Island Child Development Center in Orange Beach, Alabama since its opening. Ms. Moody stated, “It is important to me to offer the highest quality child care I can to the families of South Baldwin County. Being licensed by the State of Alabama assures families that a level of care is being met at Discovery Island as required by the State of Alabama’s Minimum Standards. Because we are licensed, the Center is regularly inspected which is a parent’s assurance that these high standards are being met. My goal of becoming certified in these new Early Learning Guidelines as soon as they were published came from my desire to continue to do everything I can to keep Discovery Island a top quality facility for children’s care and education. We have already put into practice the new developmental guidelines and checklists recommended by these new standards at Discovery Island.​



DISCOVERY ISLAND CELEBRATES 10TH YEAR WITH 3 PERFECT INSPECTIONS



December 17th, 2008



In June, within 2 weeks time, Discovery Island was "visited" by three of the agencies that are allowed entry the Center for the purpose of inspections and received perfect scores from each. The Baldwin County Department of Health visited first grading the Center with a 100 for their quarterly inspection. Later that same day the Auditor for the USDA's Federal Food Program arrived to inspect the records and meal service of the Center. The Center provides meals for the children of the Center and participates in the same food program as the public school system. This is a family's assurance that their child is receiving healthy and appropriate portioned meals while at the daycare. After 2 days of inspecting records and observing the Center, the Auditor gave Discovery Island their department's designation of "no exceptions found" in their observance of the program. This is the same as no errors or a perfect score. A few days later the licensing agent from the Department of Human Resources arrived to conduct a full classroom and records inspection of the Center for the purpose of approving the re-licensing application submitted by DI. The licensing agent left the Center approving the license and noting "no discrepancies on site" which is the Department's perfect inspection. 10 years ago Melissa Callaway Moody, owner and director of the Center, recognized a need for licensed daycare options for families in the area and began Discovery Island Child Development Center. Her goal has always been to not only meet the Minimum Requirements of a licensed daycare, but to excel at them and exceed them. Since opening their doors the Center has graduated 172 preschoolers on to elementary school. Each of these preschoolers were equipped with a solid education foundation taught by a teacher who held a college degree in education. With their 10 year anniversary approaching, Discovery Island's very first preschool class will be starting their first year of high school this year. Ms. Melissa states "It has been a blessing to be a part of so many children's and families' lives over the past 10 years. We would like to thank all the families we have served for allowing us the honor of being a part of their children's lives. We would also like to that the community, the public school system, and both cities for all their support of what Discovery Island is doing. We are proud of our recent perfect inspections and our ongoing record. We are also proud and thankful to be celebrating out 10 year anniversary on June 29th. We eagerly look forward to continuing to try to do our best for the young children of our community."​