Los Angeles Valley College

Professor of: Child Development

Phone: (818) 947-2865

Email: shipmaam@lavc.edu

Amanda M. Shipman's career began as a physical education teacher soon after graduating from famed Tuskegee University. However, after four years of working with middle and high school students, fond memories of young children during student teaching and working at the campus nursery school prompted a career change.

Following a relocation to California, Amanda began as a head teacher with Head Start for eight years and then moved to Drew University as a master teacher with a state-funded inclusion preschool program. After receiving a Master of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education from California State University, Dominguez Hills, she was promoted to the position of director of five programs serving early intervention children (infants through preschool). This position included teaching child development to medical students and residents during their rotation at King/Drew Medical Center. She also taught child development at California State University, Dominguez Hills and Compton College. With the desire to continue to meet the needs of many children, her career path lead to Los Angeles Valley College.

At LAVC, Amanda initiated the college participation in the Child Development Training Consortium grant that offers financial support for eligible students for tuition and books, added Child Development 39 (Administration and Supervision of Early Childhood Programs, II) to the course offerings, joined students in making presentations at several conferences, and has taught many of the classes in Child Development. At LAVC, her teaching focuses on the classes that consider the "at risk children and families," principles and practices for early childhood teachers, and multicultural education.