FAQs

The lesson plans are based on an emergent, anti-bias curriculum which fall under the Creative Curriculum.  It focuses on the interest and development of the children. We use a variety of resources to meet our needs.

This is highly dependent on how many children withdraw at the end of summer to enroll in kindergarten and how many families withdraw for other reasons. On average, we have approximately 25-30 openings each fall.

The Texas State University Child Development Center must abide by university policies and procedures, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services child care licensing requirements (TDPRS), accreditation guidelines, Child Care Services (CCS), and the USDA Child Care and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

The CDC offers summer care to school age children up to age 8 if space is available.

Tours can be scheduled M-F from 9:00 am to 11:00 am or from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm by appointment.

Giving an accurate number is extremely difficult due to many factors. People on the list ahead of you may not have contacted us about change of plans in enrollment, siblings of currently enrolled children may enter the picture, and those on the list may shift as they age. Until we attempt to contact families on the list to offer enrollment, we can’t be certain of specific numbers.

Yes. For more information, please refer to the Admissions and Eligibility section on our website (http://www.fcs.txstate.edu/cdc/Enrollment/admission-eligibility.html).

You will be notified through email whenever a spot becomes available if you are next on the wait list and you will be given 48 hours to respond.

Infants must be at least 12 weeks by mid-Aug to enroll during the Fall semester.  Parents may not pay to hold their child's spot if they do not meet the age requirement in August. 

If you are not ready to accept the offer of enrollment, you will be removed from the waitlist and you must reapply by submitting a new waitlist application and application fee.

No. The CDC is exclusively a full-time program.

This is highly variable and greatly affected by the age of the child, waitlist priorities, and best fit for classroom.

We are a peanut free facility.  Parents must provide substitutions for children with food allergies, limitations, or food preferences.  Substitutions must meet the CDC food requirements, including no high sugar foods or nuts.

We focus on elements in the child’s environment that we can influence directly and work to increase children’s capacity to develop the skills that support them in full participation in the classroom and with adults and peers. If needed, the center staff will request a meeting with the child’s parent(s) and collaborate on the development of strategies to better meet the child’s needs. Children with diagnosed special needs are part of an inclusion system that supports their development and learning in the context of a community of learners. Additionally, we welcome the expertise of specialists and therapists; we provide space and opportunities for therapeutic sessions.

We do not provide therapy but we host a number of professionals at our center that work to strengthen and achieve the children’s developmental goals and needs.

Many colleges and universities with education and human service program provide settings where students learn about and practice teaching, curriculum development, and program management, or gain experience observing children so that they are better prepared for their future professions in related fields such as early childhood teaching, counseling, physical therapy, etc. The CDC is a “lab” setting where Texas State students can observe or gain the kind of “guided apprenticeship” under the supervision of teachers that is necessary in learning to take active roles in their future professions.

Lab students can observe classes through our one-way observation booths or they may participate in a classroom. They are escorted at all times and are never left alone with the children. They are required to wear identification items such as name tags and bandanas as an added security measure. In addition, background checks are required for all lab students to complete and must be cleared before entering the CDC.

Faculty and students form Texas State can conduct research studies about children’s learning and development, about teacher education practices, and about early childhood program policies and practices at the CDC. All research studies proposed at the center are evaluated by Texas State faculty and CDC administration to ensure that the studies employ appropriate methods, and that the CDC program is not overly disrupted by the implementation of the research. Once a proposed study is evaluated to be appropriate for the CDC, researchers must complete an application to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to further ensure the procedures protect the rights of Human subjects in research. These visitations are screened, monitored, and supervised to insure that they in no way interfere with classroom activities or offer uncomfortable or unsafe situations to the children. No child will be involved in a research project without parental consent.

Yes. Please email Gwynne Hamer (glh77@txstate.edu), our Master Teacher, to set up an interview. We accept interns in the areas of childcare, administration and kitchen support.

All of our full time jobs are posted on the Texas State Human Resources website (https://jobs.hr.txstate.edu/). If you are a student interested in part time work, you can get an application online directly from our website or in person at the center.

For full-time position requirements, please refer to the Texas State Human Resources website (https://jobs.hr.txstate.edu/).

For Teaching Assistant part time positions, we seek applicants with some experience (paid or voluntary) with young children. We seek those enrolled in a course of study related to child development, education, families, etc. We will consider candidates outside this course of study if they have previous childcare experience. The CDC primarily employs students eligible for work study. We have a few student worker slots designated for those not work-study. All part time staff must be available to work at least 15-20 hours per week with consistent blocks of time available during our hours of operation (7:30 a.m. through 6:00 p.m.).

Applicants must be available to work 8-1 or 9-1. Kitchen or nutrition experience is a plus. Applications are always welcome.

Celebrations at the CDC are planned by the parent(s) and the child’s teacher in advance. They are typically held during the afternoon snack time. We require nutritious treats such as yogurt, fruit, granola, veggies and dip, etc. High-sugar foods such as cake, candy, donuts, etc. are not permitted. All celebration foods must be nut free and pre-approved by the Director. Party favors and gifts of any kind are not permitted to be distributed to the children.

If a birthday is to be celebrated away from school and the entire class is not invited, please mail the invitations. If the entire class is invited, please feel free to bring the invitations to school and place in each child’s mailbox

We encourage outside play but children’s safety comes first. At the CDC, we believe it is never too hot or cold to go outside, however, we do limit our outside time when it is extremely cold or hot. If there is ice, precipitation, or lightning, the children will not go outside.

All children in attendance must be well enough to participate in both indoor and outdoor activities. In addition, permitting a child to remain indoors separate from the class will impact the teacher/child ratio. Therefore, we cannot have a staff member remain inside to supervise children separated from the class.

We do not offer vacation credit or sibling discounts. However, CDC and FCS faculty and staff with children enrolled at the CDC will receive a 20% tuition discount.

If the CDC is without power or water for more than 2 hours, parents will be notified via email and phone that their children must be picked up.  If the university closes to do an emergency, the CDC will give parents 30 minutes to pick up their children before closing.