Illinois Central College Children’s Center
Quality, accessible, affordable, and educational childcare services.
About ICC Children’s Center
Our developmentally appropriate program is for potty trained children ages 2 to 6. Your child can learn and grow as an individual in a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment under the care of qualified teachers and staff. Our goal is to help your child develop a positive sense of self by promoting physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development through play.
Learning Through Play – Philosophy of Child Development
Social – Help children feel comfortable at school, trust their environment, make friends, and feel like they are part of a group.
Emotional – Help children experience pride and self-confidence; develop independence and self-control, and have a positive attitude towards life.
Cognitive – Help children become confident learners by letting them try out their own ideas, experience success, solve problems, ask questions, and describe their ideas, observations, and feelings.
Physical – Help children increase their large and small muscle skills and feel confident about what their bodies can do.
Prospective Parents
Prospective parents can take a tour and meet our fully-licensed teachers by contacting us at (309) 694-5116 or [email protected].
Voucher Assistance Program
The Child Care Voucher Assistance Program supports low-income students by supplementing the cost of childcare services at locally licensed childcare facilities, CCAP-eligible providers or at the on-site ICC Children’s Center. The voucher is not intended to cover the full cost of childcare expenses but will help reduce the cost. Student parents’ eligibility would be based on their financial aid eligibility and the number of credit hours in which they are enrolled.
Apply
You can start your application to the ICC Children’s Center today!
Tution & Fees
Learn more about child care tuition and fees.
Parental Involvement
We are eager to welcome your family into our program!
Summer Explorer Camp
This camp is for children age 6-12 years old, and is DCFS licensed.
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National Accreditation
The ICC Children’s Center is accredited as a High Quality Early Childhood Program with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
The ICC Children’s Center is rated with the highest Gold Circle of Quality from ExceleRate Illinois – the Quality Rating Improvement Scale for the State of Illinois.
About Accreditation
NAEYC Accreditation of Programs for Young Children is the mark of quality in early childhood education.
Accredited programs by the NAEYC have voluntarily undergone a comprehensive process of internal self-study, invited external professional review to verify compliance with the Academy’s Criteria for High Quality Early Childhood Programs — the ICC Children’s Center has been found to be in substantial compliance with the criteria.
What you should look for in a High-Quality Early Childhood Program.
Look for these qualities in a child care program:
- Frequent, positive, and warm interactions among adults and children
- Planned learning activities appropriate to children’s age and development, such as block building, painting, stories, dress-up, and active, outdoor play
- Specially trained teachers
- Enough adults to respond to individual children
- Many, varied age-appropriate materials
- A healthy and safe environment for children
- Nutritious meals and/or snacks
- Regular communication with parents who welcome visitors at all times
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Student Opportunities
Our Center is a great place for students to gain valuable experience working with children in an educational and safe environment. Current ICC students have both the opportunity for classroom observation as well as for part-time student employment.
- Classroom Observation: The ICC Children’s Center has observation capabilities and tours available to ICC Child Development Students. These can be scheduled by professors according to our guidelines.
- Student Observation: ICC Students attending child development academic classes can also schedule observation times with the Center.
- Student Teaching: Our Center provides academic training future teachers. We accept student teachers by semester when coordinated by an advisor or instructor.
Student Employment
We offer part-time employment options from Mon-Fri: 8 am – 4:45 pm. Preference is given to Federal Work Study Qualified Students under minimal qualifications. Student employees must be current ICC students.
Keep an eye out for student employment opportunities by selecting the category Student Employment!
HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT:
- Varies according to each student’s class schedule
- Schedules are set for the same time for an entire semester
- Shifts may include working the same hours on a MWF schedule, TR schedule or a Monday through Friday schedule
- Since class obligations change from one semester to the next, work schedules may change on a semester basis
- The hours for student employees average from 8 to 20 hours per week
MINIMAL QUALIFICATIONS:
- Employment hours are based on the student’s schedule and remain consistent for the entire semester.
- Shifts may include working the same hours on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule, a Tuesday through Thursday schedule, or a Monday through Friday Schedule.
- Work schedules may change semester to semester based on the student’s class schedule.
- The hours for student employees range from eight to 20 hours per week.
- Employment is open to any major, but majors relating to child development, early elementary education, nursing or early childhood education are preferred.
REQUIREMENTS:
- References (3 letters of reference)
- Clearance on a criminal background check
- A medical verifying good health
- A negative TB test