The LSU Child Care Center is now part of the seven childcare centers in Louisiana with a five-star rating from the Quality Start Rating System.
The Quality Start Rating System’s purpose is to distinguish and recognize the quality of childcare at institutions throughout the state of Louisiana, said Child Care Center Director Michelle DeMeulenaere. What distinguishes five-star centers from other centers with lower ratings is that all staff members and classrooms meet the “educational component.”
DeMeulenaere said 100 percent of the staff at LSU’s center met the qualifications that the Quality Start Rating System set.
Teachers and classrooms are assessed based on their qualifications and the performance level of the students.
The center has been at its current location on Gourrier Lane for seven years and can care for 185 children at full occupancy, DeMeulenaere said.
But those spots are usually full, and parents looking to send their children to the center are met with a waiting list.
“There is such a long waiting list because once you’re in, you’re in,” DeMeulenaere said. “People just don’t leave; they usually stay for the full four to five years.”
Priority placement and discounts are given to University students, staff and faculty. Children of alumni and the community are able to enroll their children based on availability.
Accounting junior Hillary Vigier had her daughter on the waiting list for a year, but Vigier said in an e-mail that it was well worth the wait.
Vigier also noted that the center is one of the cleanest and most organized facilities she has ever seen.
She said the convenience of the discounted payment being applied directly her University fee bill is one of the best parts of the center.
DeMeulenaere said volunteers who want to work with children are welcomed, but they must have background checks. Working on bulletin boards, filing or other clerical duties are available for volunteers who don’t want to work with children.  
Holly Grace Whidden, child and family studies sophomore, is a student worker at the center. She said she was placed at the center through the work-study program.
“Before I could work with the children, I had to have a background check, fill out an application and provide references that they actually check,” Whidden said.
Whidden said the atmosphere at the center is fast-paced but bubbly.
“It’s one of the best day-care centers I have seen,” Whidden said. “The kids always have a smile on their face.”
 
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Contact Jacy Baggett at [email protected]