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Dreams and Discoveries preschool located on Jeane Chapel Road in Leesville is the first and only facility in Vernon Parish to earn a three-star rating from the state of Louisiana’s Quality Start Program.
The state program is a voluntary initiative for licensed child care centers and is designed to support and increase the quality of child care throughout the state. Several centers in Vernon Parish participate in the program that rates child care centers statewide on a scale from one to five stars. Ratings are based on several criteria including staff interaction with children, language, reading and instruction generally.
Quality child care isn't the only benefit to parents and children at Dreams and Discoveries. A tax credit is also availalbe for taxpayers with children who are under the age of 6 and are enrolled in a child care center that has earned at least 2 stars in Louisiana's Quality Start program. Qualified parents who enroll their children will also receive a 100-percent increase in their Louisiana Child Care Tax Credit. Their credit will double. Parents with children in a two-star center will receive a 50-percent increase in their credit.
Dreams and Discoveries owes its rating in part to its commitment to high quality care, said owner Cindy Besharatpour, who migrated to Leesville from California in 1988.
“We made a jump ahead of everyone else by sending our employees through the Child Development Associate (CDA) certification,” she explained.
Other preschools in Vernon Parish that are being graded by the state are the 2-star Head Start centers operated by the Vernon School Board in Anacoco, Hicks, Hornbeck, Leesville, Pickering, Pitkin and Rosepine; Rivers of Life Outreach/ Guardian Angel Daycare in Leesville with 2-stars; and Leesville’s Destiny with a Purpose Daycare/Learning Center, First Baptist Child Care Center, Noah's Ark Child Development Center in with 1-star.
Kathy Isgitt who directs the First Baptist Child Care Center says she enrolled in the program last year after carefully weighing the pros and the cons of membership including the tax credits.
“Our program was high quality anyway and we believed there would be a lot of paperwork and some cost involved with supplies and equipment if we enrolled in the state program,” said Isgitt. “We joined after we looked at the benefits to families, employees and the center.”
Beyond rating centers, Quality Start also offers training for child care providers to help increase their rating. By joining Quality Start, centers illustrate to parents their commitment to providing the highest quality child care.
In the Quality Start system one-star indicates that the center has a license in good standing and no outstanding deficiencies. Two-stars designate that the center staff has received more specialized training and the center has completed a self-assessment plan. A three to five-star rating indicates the center provides quality child care based on staff qualifications and the Environment Rating Scales (ERS).
ERS are the assessment tools that measure environmental indicators of quality developed at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina. They include the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale, the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale and the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale.
One of the largest providers in the parish has not enrolled in the state program. Essie Slaydon, director of the Assembly Pre-School located on 9th Street in Leesville, says her school is doing pretty well without state intervention.
“We are considered a Class B facility but operate as if we are Class A,” said Slaydon. “We can go Class A tomorrow if I wanted to, but I have not seen the need.”
The Assembly Pre-School has been operating since 1974 and is licensed to provide services to 199 children. Currently there are 140 children enrolled there. Slaydon said they “stay full without vouchers” and do not need the tax incentives offered by the state to attract and keep business.
Additionally she said she prefers not to add any other layers of government bureaucracy over the school's operation.
Centers can be evaluated and rated once a year. First Baptist Child Care Center is already planning for 2011. “We are working on qualifying for 2-star certification,” said Isgitt.
Parents can get more information about the Quality Start program by calling the Louisiana Department of Social Services Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education at (225) 342-0694 or 1-800-680-9098. To find the Child Care Resource and Referral agency in your region, call toll-free at 1-866-600-2772 or visit www.laccrra.com.
There is no fee to child care providers who are interested in participating in Quality Start. Applications may be obtained from the Louisiana Department of Social Services Child Care Quality Specialist or the Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) agency.
Dreams and Discoveries preschool located on Jeane Chapel Road in Leesville is the first and only facility in Vernon Parish to earn a three-star rating from the state of Louisiana’s Quality Start Program.
The state program is a voluntary initiative for licensed child care centers and is designed to support and increase the quality of child care throughout the state. Several centers in Vernon Parish participate in the program that rates child care centers statewide on a scale from one to five stars. Ratings are based on several criteria including staff interaction with children, language, reading and instruction generally.
Quality child care isn't the only benefit to parents and children at Dreams and Discoveries. A tax credit is also availalbe for taxpayers with children who are under the age of 6 and are enrolled in a child care center that has earned at least 2 stars in Louisiana's Quality Start program. Qualified parents who enroll their children will also receive a 100-percent increase in their Louisiana Child Care Tax Credit. Their credit will double. Parents with children in a two-star center will receive a 50-percent increase in their credit.
Dreams and Discoveries owes its rating in part to its commitment to high quality care, said owner Cindy Besharatpour, who migrated to Leesville from California in 1988.
“We made a jump ahead of everyone else by sending our employees through the Child Development Associate (CDA) certification,” she explained.
Other preschools in Vernon Parish that are being graded by the state are the 2-star Head Start centers operated by the Vernon School Board in Anacoco, Hicks, Hornbeck, Leesville, Pickering, Pitkin and Rosepine; Rivers of Life Outreach/ Guardian Angel Daycare in Leesville with 2-stars; and Leesville’s Destiny with a Purpose Daycare/Learning Center, First Baptist Child Care Center, Noah's Ark Child Development Center in with 1-star.
Kathy Isgitt who directs the First Baptist Child Care Center says she enrolled in the program last year after carefully weighing the pros and the cons of membership including the tax credits.
“Our program was high quality anyway and we believed there would be a lot of paperwork and some cost involved with supplies and equipment if we enrolled in the state program,” said Isgitt. “We joined after we looked at the benefits to families, employees and the center.”
Beyond rating centers, Quality Start also offers training for child care providers to help increase their rating. By joining Quality Start, centers illustrate to parents their commitment to providing the highest quality child care.
In the Quality Start system one-star indicates that the center has a license in good standing and no outstanding deficiencies. Two-stars designate that the center staff has received more specialized training and the center has completed a self-assessment plan. A three to five-star rating indicates the center provides quality child care based on staff qualifications and the Environment Rating Scales (ERS).
ERS are the assessment tools that measure environmental indicators of quality developed at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina. They include the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale, the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale and the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale.
One of the largest providers in the parish has not enrolled in the state program. Essie Slaydon, director of the Assembly Pre-School located on 9th Street in Leesville, says her school is doing pretty well without state intervention.
“We are considered a Class B facility but operate as if we are Class A,” said Slaydon. “We can go Class A tomorrow if I wanted to, but I have not seen the need.”
The Assembly Pre-School has been operating since 1974 and is licensed to provide services to 199 children. Currently there are 140 children enrolled there. Slaydon said they “stay full without vouchers” and do not need the tax incentives offered by the state to attract and keep business.
Additionally she said she prefers not to add any other layers of government bureaucracy over the school's operation.
Centers can be evaluated and rated once a year. First Baptist Child Care Center is already planning for 2011. “We are working on qualifying for 2-star certification,” said Isgitt.
Parents can get more information about the Quality Start program by calling the Louisiana Department of Social Services Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education at (225) 342-0694 or 1-800-680-9098. To find the Child Care Resource and Referral agency in your region, call toll-free at 1-866-600-2772 or visit www.laccrra.com.
There is no fee to child care providers who are interested in participating in Quality Start. Applications may be obtained from the Louisiana Department of Social Services Child Care Quality Specialist or the Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) agency.
