Child Care of Southwest Florida Early Learning Centers
Pine Manor Community Center, 37 Barkley Circle, Fort Myers, FL 33907
About
Child Care of Southwest Florida Early Learning Centers offers play-based learning activities that reflect children’s interests, stimulate their imaginations, and strengthen their social, academic, language, problem-solving, and motor skills. At Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center, children also take part in a community garden that produces fresh vegetables to teach them about nutrition, healthy food, teamwork, and sustainability.
• Ages: 0–8 years old
Serving Southwest Florida’s children, families, and child care professionals since 1967, Child Care of Southwest Florida Early Learning Centers operates as a family-centered, non-profit early childhood organization with a play-based creative curriculum, low student-to-teacher ratios, and nutritious meals that include breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. The program states that its goal is to strengthen and enhance the lives of children and their families, and that children who attend the centers learn how learning, eating, environment, and family are interconnected. The organization offers affordable early childhood learning centers with scholarship funds available, accepts School Readiness Vouchers at Children’s Garden of LaBelle, and provides free VPK child care at Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center before and after school.
Child Care of Southwest Florida employs child care professionals who are trained to provide the highest level of care, with teacher applicants required to have State of Florida child care licensing credentials and with additional credentials such as a CDA, Associate Degree, or BA in Early Childhood Education preferred. Leadership includes center directors Yadira Lorenzo at Children’s Garden of LaBelle, Nikiah Smith at Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center, Lateasha Green at P.A. Geraci Child Development Center, and Martha Kebhart at The Children’s Learning Center, along with other named leaders at additional early learning sites. The Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center Director holds a CDA, Director’s Credential, CPR/First Aid certification, and 45 DCF training hours, and the P.A. Geraci Child Development Center Director holds a CDA and Director’s Credentials.
The program holds NAC accreditation, has Gold Seal centers, and has been recognized with a five-star rating by the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida through the Southwest Florida Stars Quality Rating Improvement System. Children’s Garden of LaBelle is noted as the only Platinum-Level, Asthma-Friendly Child Care Center in LaBelle as awarded by the Florida Asthma Coalition, and The Children’s Learning Center is a Certified Nature-Explore Classroom. Community involvement includes overseeing and coordinating the DCF’s Florida Child Care Mandated Training and Competency Exams in a five-county region, administering the USDA Child Care Food Programs in 28 counties, and supporting Family Child Care Homes and child care centers throughout Florida with training, guidance, and financial reimbursement for healthy meals, with support from partners and donors such as Truist Bank and scholarship funds.
One parent testimonial describes a single mother who was able to return to full-time work with the support of a scholarship, stating that her daughter has been with teachers who have helped raise her and prepare her for kindergarten. Another testimonial from a community partner describes it as a privilege to work with Child Care of Southwest Florida in its focus on early development and support for children, families, and neighborhoods in Southwest Florida.
Last updated February 13, 2026.
• Ages: 0–8 years old
Serving Southwest Florida’s children, families, and child care professionals since 1967, Child Care of Southwest Florida Early Learning Centers operates as a family-centered, non-profit early childhood organization with a play-based creative curriculum, low student-to-teacher ratios, and nutritious meals that include breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. The program states that its goal is to strengthen and enhance the lives of children and their families, and that children who attend the centers learn how learning, eating, environment, and family are interconnected. The organization offers affordable early childhood learning centers with scholarship funds available, accepts School Readiness Vouchers at Children’s Garden of LaBelle, and provides free VPK child care at Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center before and after school.
Child Care of Southwest Florida employs child care professionals who are trained to provide the highest level of care, with teacher applicants required to have State of Florida child care licensing credentials and with additional credentials such as a CDA, Associate Degree, or BA in Early Childhood Education preferred. Leadership includes center directors Yadira Lorenzo at Children’s Garden of LaBelle, Nikiah Smith at Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center, Lateasha Green at P.A. Geraci Child Development Center, and Martha Kebhart at The Children’s Learning Center, along with other named leaders at additional early learning sites. The Joseph H. Messina Children’s Center Director holds a CDA, Director’s Credential, CPR/First Aid certification, and 45 DCF training hours, and the P.A. Geraci Child Development Center Director holds a CDA and Director’s Credentials.
The program holds NAC accreditation, has Gold Seal centers, and has been recognized with a five-star rating by the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida through the Southwest Florida Stars Quality Rating Improvement System. Children’s Garden of LaBelle is noted as the only Platinum-Level, Asthma-Friendly Child Care Center in LaBelle as awarded by the Florida Asthma Coalition, and The Children’s Learning Center is a Certified Nature-Explore Classroom. Community involvement includes overseeing and coordinating the DCF’s Florida Child Care Mandated Training and Competency Exams in a five-county region, administering the USDA Child Care Food Programs in 28 counties, and supporting Family Child Care Homes and child care centers throughout Florida with training, guidance, and financial reimbursement for healthy meals, with support from partners and donors such as Truist Bank and scholarship funds.
One parent testimonial describes a single mother who was able to return to full-time work with the support of a scholarship, stating that her daughter has been with teachers who have helped raise her and prepare her for kindergarten. Another testimonial from a community partner describes it as a privilege to work with Child Care of Southwest Florida in its focus on early development and support for children, families, and neighborhoods in Southwest Florida.
Last updated February 13, 2026.
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