Over 100 children are on the Whelan Center’s waitlist, bringing the numbers back up since Hurricane Katrina.
The Whelan Children’s Center, located in Mercy Hall, provides daycare services for children close to the Loyola community. Space is very limited, however, and the center has an extensive waitlist.
The waitlist is organized by a three-tiered system. Faculty, staff, students and siblings of enrolled students comprise the first tier, and receive top priority on the waitlist. Alumni make up the second tier, and the general community makes up the third. The Whelan Center’s waitlist has been particularly long in recent months, with 108 children currently waiting for a place in the daycare, which has a maximum capacity of 62 children. Last year, the list was a similar length.
In addition to waiting for an unknown length of time, parents are required to pay a $25 waitlist fee and are updated on their position on the waitlist every September and March. The Whelan Center does not require parents to reapply every year; children remain on the waitlist even as a new academic year arrives.
“Since Katrina, our waiting list has been down just because there weren’t as many people in the city,” said Robyn Oubre, Whelan Center director. “Now, everything is building back up.”
What does this mean for parents of children who are on the waiting list, but still need a daycare immediately?
For those who can’t wait too long, the Whelan Center provides a list of other daycares in the area as alternatives.
“That’s something we give out often for someone who is looking for a daycare immediately,” Oubre said.
For many parents, having a child at the Whelan Center is worth the wait.
“I didn’t realize what a wonderful experience it would be compared to just staying at home. The learning he received exceeded my expectations,” said Shannon Kincaid, a parent of a child at the center.
Kincaid spent under two months on the waitlist a few years ago and was in the first tier. Kincaid said she is glad to have not needed to explore other daycare options.
“He wouldn’t have been able to develop the way he did here,” Kincaid said. “He would not have advanced as much as he did.”
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