Dr. Shannon Bernard and Michelle Luquette, representatives of On Track by 5 Alliance for the Lafayette Parish Public School System, join Discover Lafayette to discuss their department’s mission to improve the quality and access of early care and education for children from birth to age 5 years of age. Great work is being done to improve early childhood educational options for young people which is being funded through School Readiness Tax Credits and the generosity of Lafayette businesses. You can actually designate up to $5,000.00 of your state tax dollars that are owed each year to go to On Track by 5 Alliance, and then get a refundable tax credit of that same amount if your donation exceeds your tax obligation for any given year. How does this work? In January of 2008, Louisiana established a package of refundable state tax credits for businesses designed to support quality child care pursuant to LA R. S. 47:6107. A business is defined as any for-profit or not for-profit entity, which includes sole proprietors, partnerships, limited liability corporations, and corporations. Your CPA can help you file for this refund if you give them a heads up before filing your tax documents. See below for Michelle Luquette's contact information to ask questions on this detail. These tax credits provice businesses with a dollar-for-dollar credit of up to $5000 for donations made to Child Care Resource and Referral agencies that are contracted by the Department of Education. On Track by 5 Alliance is such an agency and your contributions go directly to benefit children that live in Lafayette Parish. You can make this designation each and every year, get a tax refund, and know that your money is being dedicated to early childhood educational efforts for our must vulnerable and in-need young people. The School Readiness Tax Credit and ON TRACK programs here in Lafayette are so special because they serve learning centers and programs only in Lafayette Parish. Lafayette applied to be a Childcare Resource and Referral Agency just for Lafayette parish, so businesses know their dollars are staying in the parish and serving local centers when they designate . This tax credit not only boosts the economy by investing money back into the parish, but also ensures that children will become contributing members of society. In Lafayette Parish there are 58 publicly funded centers (meaning they accept childcare tax dollar assistance) and over 100 centers total which service over 6,000 children. Some publicly funded centers include Gifted Early Learning Center, Little Blessings, Little Miracles, and LA 4 (a public pre-school). These centers aren’t just for babysitting the children but provide them with quality education. In a typical school day, children are learning through play, such as dramatic play, sensory play, and manipulatives. Manipulatives are tools like string beads for counting and puzzles which develop the child’s fine motor skills. They are also being taught social-emotional skills that are critical for development and will set the child up for the next stage in their life. The children at these schools may not otherwise learn life schools and will enter kindergarten way behind their peers. This program is a life changer for many young people who are intelligent and gifted but need a hand-up. Early childcare is much more than just babysitting, which is a common misconception about the On Track by 5 programs. These programs provide a safe learning environment for young children to develop critical skills for success later in life. Children are taught by qualified teachers who go through yearly training to continually provide quality care and education to the children. Providers are registered with the state and can take up to six children in their home from birth to 5 years old. There are also several Head Start programs and pre-schools in Lafayette that On Track by 5 works with.
