REAP awarded five-star rating

The Remedial Education Activity Program (REAP) at East Carolina University has received the state’s highest rating –five stars –as a developmental daycare program for children with special needs.

The rating system is a new measuring tool that is provided through the Division of Child Development under the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The ratings are designed to help parents determine the overall quality of a childcare program.

As of Sept. 1, all child care centers and homes licensed by the state will move to the star-rated system that awards from one to five stars to designate overall quality.

“When you go into a restaurant, you know how well that facility is doing in meeting health standards, because we have a rating system,” said Division of Child Development director Stephanie Fanjul.

“Parents deserve a similar rating system for child care centers,” she said REAP is the first program designed especially for children with disabilities and special needs to receive the five-star rating in Pitt County.

Only one other program in the county, a preschool laboratory at Pitt Community College, has received the five-star rating. Eight other centers in the county have received ratings of four and three stars.

Kim Stancil, the director of REAP, said the ratings for daycare centers are determined on the basis of the education of staff members, program standards and compliance history.

The REAP center was established in 1969 to serve as an educational program for pre-schoolers with special needs. The center later became part of the Special Education Department of ECU School of Education. The center employs a staff of seven, including the director, a social worker, program assistant, lead teacher and developmental aides. Students from the special education and child development departments use the center to practice their teaching skills and special education skills.