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Waynesboro Day Care earns four-star rating
photo by Nancy Mace/The Record Herald
Waynesboro Day Care Center director, Denise Feeser, far left, celebrates the recognition of the center as the only one in Franklin and Fulton counties to earn a four-star rating from Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare. Next to Feeser, from left, are teacher Tammy Frey; Brandon Alexander, 4; Libby Sweeny and her daughter, Kaitlin, 5; and state Rep. Todd Rock.
Written by Nancy Mace, The Record Herald, Sat Oct 04, 2008,
Waynesboro, Pa. - reprinted with permissionThere's a lot to celebrate at Waynesboro Day Care Center.
On top of expanding its hours, increasing the number of toddler slots and lowering the age for care, the center just learned it has earned a four-star rating from Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare.
"We're the only one in Franklin and Fulton counties," said Denise Feeser, director. "We want people to know they have a little diamond in their own backyard."
The center received its official notification Sept. 26 from Keystone STARS, Pennsylvania's program to improve the quality of child care. STARS stands for standards, training/professional development, assistance, resources and support.
An open house to celebrate the achievement [took place on Oct. 5] at the center [with] tours, cake and ice cream, educational information and information about the STARS program.
The Program
Day care providers earn stars by showing that they have met increasingly higher standards.
"Four is as high as you can go," noted Feeser. "One of the biggest things is training. When you quadruple your training, you're ensuring quality. We do intentional teaching. Everything the staff does has a purpose," she continued. "We are proud to actively participate in this voluntary program to show our commitment to continually improve our standards of care," she added.
To maintain the four-star rating, all teachers at the center must earn a child development associate's degree or higher by July 2010.
"Fourteen (of our 25) teachers are already enrolled in college with the help of the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program," an initiative of Congress in 2007, Feeser noted. The STARS program was created to recognize the importance of quality early learning to a child's future success in school. "We're reaching out to the community and the community is reaching back so that all of these little guys get quality education," Feeser said. Each STARS designation has its own research-based performance standards that are linked to improving outcomes for children, she added.
"The greater Waynesboro area should be proud of their achievement," noted state Rep. Todd Rock, who recently visited the center to congratulate the staff. "This kind of successful program starts with the staff, who are willing to do extra training and professional development to provide a safe learning environment for the children," Rock added.
Other changes
The day care center expanded its hours starting Sept. 1. The center is now open one hour longer each day, from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., to accommodate parents' needs. "We also dropped the age to start from 18 months to 13 months old," according to Feeser. The center has hired additional staff to provide care for the additional toddlers they've taken in. "We now have 45 toddler slots instead of 24," Feeser explained.
The center is the only one in Franklin County and one of 70 in the state to participate in the Mind in the Making series, which are modules that help early childhood teachers plan children's learning.
The center is funded by United Way of Franklin County, Child Care Information Services, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, an annual fund drive, an on-site thrift shop, program fees and private donations.
Program fees are based on a sliding scale according to the income of parents and/or guardian and how many people are in the family, noted Feeser.
"We're lucky. We have a lot of good people here," said Feeser, who is assisted by office manager Amy Freeman.
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