Early childhood development centers rely on funds

By CASEY COLLIER
Early childhood education is described through Wikipedia as “a branch of educational theory which relates to the teaching of young children up until the age of about eight.”
Wikipedia adds to the definition, “In recent years, early childhood education has become a prevalent public policy issue, as municipal, state, and federal lawmakers consider funding for preschool and pre-K. It is described as an important period in a child’s development.”
Rae Gremillion, community liaison for Volunteers of America-Acadiana estimates there are approximately 15 Type III early childcare centers in St. Mary Parish. These are preschool or pre-K programs that rely on state funding for tuition enrollment.
Since 2008, Louisiana’s refundable state tax credit has provided a one to one ratio of credited return on donations up to $5,000 made to child care resource and referral agencies contracted by the state Department of Education.
VOA’s GetSmart Louisiana School Readiness Tax Credit program utilizes the state tax credit to invigorate and balance the Type III early education programs to better afford the children in those programs a stalwart early childhood education.
“It’s an initiative from the state which is a wonderful thing,” said Gremillion. “It’s helping keep money in the parish and helps promote education in the parish.
“We are trying to help these children get the start in the education that they need, so that they can go on ready for school.”
Gremillion says VOA’s role is in providing “the leadership, training and teachers needed to help these early learning centers with guidance.”
She said the VOA makes sure the lesson plans in the centers are “developmentally appropriate, the correct training tools are being used and children have ample play time.”
In addition, the state is planning to arrange for the Type III centers to align with more rigorous accreditation and certification standards to the end goal of virtual uniformity from student to student in terms of being able to tell where they attended their early educational development.
According to Gremillion, this is the second year the GetSmart program has been operating in St. Mary Parish.
She says that even Louisiana Head Start participant programs tend to be better funded than Type III centers.
“These are the people who are really working and trying, and they have their children in these early learning centers,” Gremillion said.
“What we are trying to do is level the playing field, and we are able to do this in each parish through the Partnership in Child Care, with the tax credit. We are providing things that they normally would not get. We are buying the tactical tools, helping them with the lesson plans, classroom makeovers and extra training.
“It’s a win-win for your business and your community.”
For more information, or to make a donation, visit:
www.GetSmartLA.org.

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