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KC Education
Top Performing School Districts
Given KC’s two-state area, it is important to note the differences in licensing requirements when choosing if you’ll live in Kansas or Missouri.
Home daycare facilities in Kansas must be licensed and registered with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
In Missouri, no license is required if the family childcare home provider cares for four children or less. Preschools do not have to be accredited by the state, but should be accredited by a nationally recognized organization.
More on licensing.
Did You Know?
Dual-income households with children make up 16% of American families today.
K-12 Education
Childcare
There are more than 650 regulated early learning centers in the Kansas City area to serve the region’s working parents, preschoolers and after-school care needs.
Whether you choose a licensed day care facility, an in-home provider or nanny, the biggest consideration experts recommend you make is how that provider interacts with your child.
Here is a list of questions to get you started:
- Are you licensed or registered? Ask to see their license or certificate of registrations.
- How long have you been providing care?
- How many children do you care for?
- Is there an open-door policy allowing parents to drop in any time for a visit?
- What program/curriculum will children be taught at school and how do the parents participate at home?
- What is the student-teacher ratio at the school?
- How is discipline handled?
- What hours is the facility open?
- What is the cost of care?
- Is there a place for children to play outdoors? What activities/exercise is the child allowed on inclement weather days?
- What kinds of meals/snacks are served?
- What are the qualifications of the teachers/care providers and how long have they been in this setting?
- What is the vacation/illness policy?
- Can you provide a list of references?
- How does the staff communicate with parents about the child’s day?
- What is the program’s philosophy and how is the day structured?
Selected Licensed Day Care Centers and Preschools in the KC metro area:
- Metro Daycare – national site where you can search by area code, etc.
- The Child Care Source, a program of The Family Conservancy, offers referral lists of child care providers in certain counties in Kansas and Missouri. You must fill out a form and agree to their privacy statement to receive the list
Missouri
- St. Vincent’s Operation Breakthrough
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City – Thornberry Center
- Garcia Elementary Before and After School Program
- Spectrum Station Early Learning Center
- St. Luke’s Hospital Child Care Center
- Missouri Bureau of Child Care
- Missouri Child Care Resource and Referral Network
- Missouri Department of Health Senior Services, Chid Care
- Hanthorn Child and Family Learning Center
- Grace Early Childhood Care Education Center
- Creative World
- St. Joseph Child Development Center
Kansas
- St. Joseph Early Education Center
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City – Wyandotte County Unit
- Jewish Community Center Child Development Center
- Tots and Tales Montessori School
- Oxford Park Academy
- Kansas City Christain School
- Kansas Department of Health & Environment
- Kansas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
- Kinder Care Learning Center
- Country Kids Day Care Inc.
- La Petite Academy
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