Some University students with children are waiting months to be accepted into the LSU Child Care Center without knowing when their children may be admitted because of high demand and low availability.
When filling out the center’s application, parents indicate their affiliation with the University, and students, staff and faculty have first priority, said Michelle DeMeulenaere, director of the LSU Child Care Center. The applications are then date-stamped in the order they are received.
Though students have first priority, many still cannot get their children into the day care center in a timely manner.
Hillary Vigier, accounting sophomore, said her daughter has been on the waiting list since June.
“LSU’s day care is honestly the best day care you’re going to find in Baton Rouge,” Vigier said. “[My daughter] is now at a day care that is way overpriced and totally out of the way of school.”
Rankings on the waiting list are kept private because it’s difficult to define rankings with children of different ages, DeMeulenaere said.
If a spot for an infant were to open up, the center would not be able to fill the position with a 3-year-old next on the list. Instead, the center would look for the first infant matching the age of the class, DeMeulenaere said.
“As openings occur throughout the year, we choose the child at the top of the list belonging to a student, staff or faculty member that will fit best in that particular classroom,” DeMeulenaere said.
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]