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Texas A&M Children's Center - Where Diversity is Embraced

Prospective Families

Thank you for considering the Children's Center as a place to encourage, facilitate and support the development of your child.  We understand that choosing a childcare facility is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make.  We encourage all interested families to stop by our Center to visit the classrooms and speak to our staff about all that we have to offer.  (Click here for a map to the Center)

Below is some information designed just for our prospective families.  We also encourage you to explore the rest of this site, especially the section for current families!

 

Eligibility for Texas A&M Children's Center

In order for a child to attend the Children's Center, one of the child's parents or legal guardians must be a student, faculty or staff member at Texas A&M University.  We require proof of A&M affiliation at the time of admission.  In order to prove TAMU affiliation, we need the affiliated person's UIN number.  If both parents are affiliated, we need both UIN numbers.  With the numbers, we can check that you are in fact enrolled or employed at TAMU.  

Exceptions to this rule are only granted to families that fall into two categories:

  1. If the parent/guardian will not be affiliated with TAMU over the Summer, but were affiliated in the Spring and expect to be affiliated again in the Fall.  (For example, this might happen if a student attends in Spring, doesn't attend summer school, and attends again in the Fall.  [Verification of eligibility of Fall enrollment is obtained using SIMS.  At least one parent must be registered.]  
     
  2. If a staff or faculty member takes a leave of absence, or is not appointed for the summer term.  (In these cases, children may remain at the Center over the summer.  However, if affiliation is not re-established in the Fall, the child will no longer be eligible for enrollment and must withdraw.)

If you have any questions about your child's eligibility, please contact the Center.

The Application Process

In order to apply, you must fill out and sign a Waitlist form.  The Waitlist Application Form is available online for you to print out and mail in.  Or you can pick up the form at the Center.  You may return the form by mail or in person.  You must submit the completed application with the $25.00 non-refundable waitlist application fee per child.  If we offer your family a spot in the Center and you accept, the waitlist fee will be applied to your child's first month's childcare tuition.

Waitlist applications are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis and are date stamped.  Completion of the application does not guarantee enrollment at the Center.  Children are entered onto the waiting list in the order in which the applications are received.  Therefore, you should make every effort to return the Waitlist Application Form promptly.  Delay may cause you to have a longer wait for enrollment!

The Waitlist

Placement on the waiting list is determined according to the date we receive your completed application form.  There are two exceptions.  Priority is given to children who:

  • are the dependents of a Children's Center staff member.
  • are the siblings of a child currently enrolled in the Center, 

Most openings occur at the end of a semester.  Sometimes we have openings in the middle of the semester.  As openings occur, we will offer space to families in this order:

  • First, we will look at our waitlist for a child of the appropriate age who has priority (based on the rules given above).

  • Second, we will start at the top of the waitlist and offer the space to the first child of the appropriate age.

  • Third, if the first child declines the space, we will offer the space to the second child of the appropriate age, and so on, until someone accepts the space. 

The following policies are listed on the Waitlist Application Form, but it doesn't hurt to repeat the information for consistency.  

  • When we contact you to offer you a space, you will be given 48 hours to make a decision to accept or decline the space.  We understand that this time is short, however, we are trying to move through the process in a timely fashion so that waitlist families have their wait shortened.  

  • If you accept the space, we will give you a deadline to pay the $35.00 non-refundable registration fee and pick up the registration packet.  If you do not pick up the packet by the deadline, the Assistant Director will attempt to contact the family.  If no contact is made within 48 hours, the space will be offered to the next family on the list.

  • If offered a space and the family declines, the family will be removed from the waitlist. If the family wants to remain on the list they must repay the $25.00 waitlist fee.  On the date of payment, the child will be added to the waitlist as of that date.

(For more information about fees, see our Hours and Fees page.)

We understand that the waiting list can be very frustrating.  In the Bryan/College Station area, families often have difficulty getting a space in a quality program, particularly for an infant.

UPDATED INFORMATION

Starting September 1, 2009, the entry age for enrollment will be 12 months. The Becky Gates Children's Center will STILL have an infant program. Texas Childcare Licensing classifies any child under the age of 18 months to be an infant. Our program will now enroll infants 12-17 months, whereas previously we enrolled those 2-17 months in the infant classes.

Historically, the Center had the 12 infant slots divided into 2 classes. A younger class of 2 -11 month olds and an older class of 12-17 month olds. The 6 slots reserved for younger infants were generally taken by families who already had children enrolled at the Center and each year those younger infants would take the older infant slots as well. Essentially the majority of the 12 infant slots were taken by families with children already enrolled. New families with infants had little to no chance of getting their infant enrolled unless the current families turned down the openings. Therefore, those spots could not legitimately be used for recruitment of new staff to the university because once newly arriving families got on the list, there were already many many families ahead of them...and as stated previously, most openings were generally already taken by families with children already enrolled.

What else will happen in September?

The infant program will increase from 12 spots to 16 spots and we anticipate the wait time to decrease for families with 12-17 month olds. Currently, the minimum wait time for an infant is at least 18-24 months, especially if the infant does not already have a sibling enrolled. However, with the changes, we anticipate shorter wait times and increases in enrollment for those families who do not have a child already enrolled.

We still encourage families with infants to get on the waitlist as soon as possible to have a better chance of getting offered a spot. We do not suggest that you wait until your child is a toddler to get on the waitlist. Many, many, MANY families will be ahead of you because they got on the waitlist when the mommy was pregnant or the child was an infant. If you are on the waitlist, we ask you for your patience, and assure you that we are consistent in following Center procedures, so that all families are given equal and fair access.

Enrollment Forms

The forms that you need for enrollment, as well as a number of other useful forms, are available online, by clicking on the links below.  Except as noted, all of these forms are required.  We will not accept these forms until we have offered your family a space.  

Due one week before the first day of attendance 		 

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