This month schools and centers are opening their doors to children across the state. The start of the school year always marks an exciting time for early childhood. Each year we are called to help meet greater ambitions for our youngest learners. We believe that every child can learn and every child deserves to enter kindergarten ready. As a result, since 2014 the City of Natchitoches Early Childhood Education & Development has assisted all Type III Childcare facilities within the Natchitoches Parish. This year was no different. With all 10 Type III facilities present childcare Lead Teachers were updated on changes within Childcare such as Performance ratings, Star Ratings, Student Assessments, Teacher observations, and more. Every childcare facility in Natchitoches now uses Tier I curriculums in their Infant, Toddler, and Pre-K classrooms. All teachers are observed with the same Observation tool as Head Start and Public Pre-K classrooms and uses the same student assessment program. Natchitoches Parish has been praised by the Louisiana Department of Education for having an unified system and community that puts forth major efforts to ensure all children enter into kindergarten ready.

In addition to ensuring children have every resource available to help them succeed Amy Metoyer, the Early Childhood Coordinator with the Early Childhood Education & Development program assist families with advice on Childcare facility options and step by step guidance completing the online Child Care Assistance Applications.