VOLUME 15 ISSUE 18 | WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY| FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015
Sports Star receiver gears up for NFL pro day SEE PAGE 11
DANCING WITH
WOLVES
Western earns at-large bid to NCAA D-II Regional Tournament SEE PAGE 9 FOR STORY
Guard Devon Alexander sneaks under the hoop through WWU defenders during Western’s semifinal loss 79-88 on Mar. 6. Alexander scored 14 points. PHOTO FROM AARON SELIG PHOTOGRAPHY
Child Care and Development Center Receives Pretigious Award Oregon State Rating and Improvement System Approves CDC for 5 Stars By JACK ARMSTRONG News Editor Western’s Teaching Research Institute and Child Development Center was recently awarded a five-star rating by the Oregon Quality Rating and Improvement System. TRI-CDC, Western’s child care center, is located in Todd Hall. Students, staff, faculty and communi-
ty members’ children between the ages of 30 months and 10 years can spend their day at the center enrolled in a variety of classes and activities while their parents attend or teach class across campus. TRI-CDC director Ingrid Amerson said, “having TRI-CDC on campus is a huge draw to perspective faculty and students.” For 35 years, the center has been open to Western’s community of parents. According to Amerson, the center offers an opportunity for busy student-parents to “know that their child is being cared for in a safe and stimulating environment” The center also offers an opportunity for Western students, who are focused on education and early childhood development, to volunteer and hone their skills. Students can “volunteer in our program to enhance their skills
working with the children, and learn about developmentally appropriate practices through hands-on experience,” Amerson said. Amerson also said that students have the opportunity to “work in our Center when positions become available,” allowing for interested students to gain resume-building job hours. TRI-CDC offers new parents a wide range of parenting-centric seminars and classes. According to Amerson, parents have the chance to learn more about the child-rearing process at the center at least twice a year. The draw of TRI-CDC for prospective students and faculty with children has been boosted by the Oregon QRIS awarding the center its highest rating of five stars. Oregon’s Early Learning Division oversees the Oregon QRIS, a rating
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system developed by early childhood development experts from Western. The award is a certification by Oregon state officials that TRI-CDC has “demonstrated to the state, the community and the families that we excel to the highest levels in the essential standards that support quality learning for all children,” according to Amerson. “We worked hard to achieve this award,” Amerson said. TRI-CDC spent more than a year compiling a portfolio that demonstrated the center’s proficiency in a number of state standards such as learning and development, family partnerships and business practices among others. The five-star rating lasts for three years, at which point TRI-CDC will have to prepare another portfolio for review. Amerson said the center Continued on Page 3