The Child Development Center was recognized with the ExceleRate Illinois Gold Circle of Quality Award at a special event Oct. 20 celebrating the Center’s 20 years of excellence. The award, presented to LLCC Trustee Dennis Shackelford, LLCC President Charlotte Warren, Ph.D., and LLCC Child Development Director Laurie Rhodes, recognizes the Center as a leader in early childhood education.

“I am honored to present this award to the LLCC Child Development Center,” said Linda Saterfield, associate director of the Office of Early Childhood at the Department of Human Services. “This achievement recognizes this center as one of the top-rated child care centers in the state and nation. Director Laurie Rhodes has been a partner with us for many years and has contributed to our understanding of the highest standards in quality child care.”

ExceleRate Illinois is the state’s new quality rating and improvement system for early learning and child development providers. The program helps families make more informed choices about their children’s early learning. It establishes standards to help infants, toddlers and preschoolers develop intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally.

“The priority at the Child Development Center has always been to offer a high-quality program that prepares children in our community for a lifetime of learning. The philosophies of the Center are modeled after what research shows are best practices in early childhood education,” stated Laurie Rhodes, LLCC Child Development Center director.

The Child Development Center focuses on a high-quality learning curriculum that is play-based and developmentally appropriate. The Center has been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) since 1995. In the fall of 2010, the Center became the first downstate program to receive a four-star rating under the voluntary Quality Counts Quality Rating System in Illinois. The Child Development Center is open to any child in the community from 15 months to kindergarten entry. Tuition assistance is available to those who qualify.

ExceleRate Illinois is administered through Illinois Network Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) under the joint direction of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Illinois State Board of Education.

For more information or to schedule a visit at LLCC’s Child Development Center, call 786.2450.

Photo caption – L to R: Linda Saterfield, associate director, Office of Early Childhood at Department of Human Services; Laurie Rhodes, director, LLCC Child Development Center; Charlotte Warren, Ph.D., LLCC President; Dennis Shackelford, LLCC Trustee; Eileen Tepatti, Ed.D., LLCC vice president of academic services; and Victor Broderick, Ph.D., LLCC dean of social sciences