Workforce Solutions Texoma Celebrates Area Quality Child Care Providers
Owners and directors from area child care providers in Cooke, Fannin and Grayson Counties came together on July 31, 2014 for recognition as quality child care providers and to learn if they were the recipient of a Child Care Quality Reimbursement Grant sponsored by Workforce Solutions Texoma. Twenty-four child care representatives participated in the Quality Counts Reception held at the Board offices of Workforce Solutions Texoma. The evening began with a welcome by Julie Craig, Child Care Contracts Manager for Workforce Solutions Texoma.
Next, the Texas Rising Star providers in attendance were awarded a lap top to assist with their business needs. A Texas Rising Star provider is a child care provider that voluntarily meets requirements that exceed the State’s Minimum Licensing Standards for child care facilities and homes. The Texas Rising Star Provider certification system provides graduated levels of certification as providers meet progressively higher standards. The Texas Rising Star program is a quality-recognition program of the Texas Workforce Commission and is administered at the local level.
Other providers in attendance were awarded a $100 business printing certificate to use for child care business printing services.
Texas Rising Star providers, left to right: Mary McDowell (The Children’s Tree Learning Center, Whitesboro), JoAnn Martin (Kiddie Kampus I, Denison), Belinda Segrest (Kiddie Kampus II, Denison), Kay Luper (Jack and Jill Child Care, Denison), Colleen Hellman (Licensed Home, Gainesville), Royann Ballard (Footsteps and Fingerprints, Bonham), Julie Craig (Child Care Contracts Manager for Workforce Solutions Texoma), Tammy Gregory (Licensed Home, Gainesville), Angela Bell (Registered Home, Sadler), Debbie Zafar (Montessori Academy of North Texas, Sherman), and Kathleen Todd (The School Zone Academy, Howe).
Left to right: Donna Zimmerer (Licensed Home, Gainesville), Ginger Borden (Angel Academy, Gainesville), Carol Pfeiffer (Covenant Presbyterian Preschool), Julie Craig (Child Care Contracts Manager for Workforce Solutions Texoma), Sheila Smith (Learning Ladder, Gainesville), Jennifer Carnes (Loving Hands Home Daycare, Whitesboro), Stormy Luneau (Tioga Early Childhood Development Center, Tioga).
The child care providers in attendance had submitted a proposal to receive a Child Care Quality Reimbursement Grant. The Child Care Quality Reimbursement Grant awards were distributed at the end of the evening. The purpose of the Grant Awards is to assist providers with the purchase of equipment or educational curriculum to improve the quality of child care offered to children at licensed centers, licensed homes or registered family homes.
At the end of the evening, the Texas Rising Star Mentor, Linda Gaylord, drew a random winner for the door prize. The unexpected door prize was a die-cut set and roll cart that was won by Kiddie Kampus II in Denison
Left to right: Belinda Segrest (Kiddie Kampus II, Denison) and Julie Craig (Child Care Contracts Manager for Workforce Solutions Texoma).
Other Texas Rising Star providers in the three-county region include Crossroads Learning Center (Leonard), Francina Dehorney’s Licensed Home (Ms. D’s Group Day Care Home, Denison), Growing Smart Learning Center (Sherman) and Leonard ISD Children’s Center (Leonard). Additionally, the Montessori Academy of North Texas (Sherman) is a nationally accredited program through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
For information on Child Care Services operated by Workforce Solutions Texoma, go to www.workforcesolutionstexoma.com and for information about the importance of quality child care, go to www.qualitycountstexoma.com.