2026 Enrollment Information
Hours
In 2026 we will only be offering 8:00am-4:00pm hours.
Infants need as much time with their parents as possible and should only be in care when completely necessary. The general recommendation is that infants spend less than 20 hours per week in childcare, and that children ages 1-3 spend less than 30 hours per week in childcare. We understand that working families need to utilize longer hours, but we want to ensure that our students spend no more than 40 hours per week in care.
We do not have specific drop-off or pick-up windows, nor do we have minimum attendance requirements. You can use your enrollment however works best for your family!
Rates
High quality teachers create safe, consistent learning environments for their students. In order to compete for the best teachers in the area, we must pay the highest local wages and offer the most comprehensive benefits.
Our 2026 rates are reflective of our commitment to being the safest and most reliable option for non-parental childcare in the area.
Infants: $450/week ($11.25/hr)
Toddlers: $400/week ($10/hr)
Preschoolers: $350/week ($8.75/hr)
All ages: $250 non-refundable enrollment fee
The center is completely private pay, with exceptions for military families utilizing Childcare Aware of America subsidies. Part-time rates are not available at this time.
Health & Safety
Staff Safety Requirements:
All of our staff are fingerprinted with NY State and undergo extensive background checks prior to employment with the program.
Though NY State only requires one on-site employee with CPR & first aid training, ALL of our staff are certified in pediatric CPR and first aid within their first 90 days of employment. All staff complete a minimum of 15 hours of health & safety training annually, and are registered mandated reporters.
All staff must be cleared by a licensed physician and test negative for TB prior to employment.
Read more about our staff here!
Student -Teacher Ratios:
Over 85% of the year, our center operates at lower ratios than NY state requires. We believe that low student-teacher ratios are a prerequisite for high-quality care, so in 2026 we are reducing student headcount to guarantee the best student-teacher ratios in the area!
Infants: 6 Students to 2 Teachers + Part time assistant (NYS Requires 4:1)
Toddlers: 10 Students to 2 Teachers + Part time assistant (NYS Requires 5:1)
Preschool: 6 Students to 1 Teacher + Part time assistant (NYS Requires 7:1)
Transparency:
We believe that transparency is one of the most important ways to build trust with families and provide a quality service to parents.
We facilitate transparency in different ways:
Open flow classrooms: Our classrooms do not operate behind closed doors. Each room can be heard from the next, and parents are free to walk through any classroom at any time of day.
No restrictions on drop-off or pick-up times: Some centers designate specific drop-off and pick-up times, which limits the times of day when parents might stop by. Parents with key code access are welcome to walk into the center any time during our business hours.
Communication & Connection: Families at our center join the Brightwheel app for contemporaneous updates on their child’s day. These updates include meals, naps, toileting activities, health checks, photos, videos, etc. The app also gives parents unlimited access to their child’s teachers and administrators via private and group messaging functions!
Facility Safety:
The building has been renovated for specific use as a childcare center, which includes many safety features!
Each classroom has multiple egress routes, with three evacuation cribs in the infant room for quick transport.
Our outside doors remain locked 24/7, with individualized & tracked key-code entry for parents and staff at our front entrance.
All three classrooms have 24/7 security cameras, first aid & CPR equipment.
We stock non-patient specific epinephrine auto-injectors in case of an anaphylactic emergency on site.
Outlets and other electrical devices are inaccessible to students.
We do not allow toys with button-batteries or other known hazards. All toys are hand-picked for the age groups, and there are no choking hazards in infant or toddler classrooms.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are installed in each room with 24/7 third-party alarm monitoring and response.
Each classroom has direct access to two fully fenced-in play yards, with privacy fencing along property lines. The play yards include playground equipment (tunnel, slides, music areas), a large sandbox, lots of grassy area to run, chalk & blacktop, water tables, a garden, and various recreational toys.
Click here to open our photo gallery!
Nutrition:
Every child has different dietary needs and preferences, so we ask that parents pack nutritious meals that they know their child will love. Each meal should be well-rounded, with fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains. We do not serve students any foods that are high in sugar and low in nutritional value, or have known health risks (e.g. Lunchables, artificially colored foods, etc.).
Though parents pack breakfast and lunch, the center provides a daily afternoon snack for all students which is compliant with Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) guidelines. Snack is typically a fruit and/or vegetable, a grain, and sometimes dairy (yogurt, cheese) or a nut butter.
We follow Ellyn Satter’s division of responsibility in feeding, and encourage parents to do the same! In short: adults decide what, when, and where a child eats, and children (18+mos) decide if and how much they will eat. Infants eat on demand, based on hunger cues!
Click here to read more about Ellyn Satter’s philosophy!
Exercise:
Depending on the day, students can expect between 1-3 hours of gross motor activity. We dance, jump, hop, crawl, climb, swing, walk, run, skip, stretch, balance, and more!
There is indoor equipment to exercise large muscle groups in each classroom and, with the exception of extreme weather, each class spends several hours outside each day. We maximize outdoor experiences via outdoor free play, picnics, outdoor lessons, and organized outside activities.
We do not offer screen time as part of our program.
Disease Control:
Our center only cares for well children, meaning that all sick kids must stay home.
Exclusion criteria includes, but is not limited to:
Illness or physical discomfort that interferes with a child’s ability to participate comfortably in the usual activities of the program
Illness that results in a need for care that is greater than the staff can provide without compromising the health and safety of other children
An acute change in behavior, such as persistent crying, lethargy/lack of responsiveness, irritability, signs of difficult breathing, or having a quickly spreading rash.
Fever, diarrhea, vomiting, mouth sores, new rashes (other than diaper rash), persistent abdominal or head pain
Students are required to wash their hands before and after meals, after toileting activities, and after coming inside from outdoor recesses. Staff follow a similar hand washing protocol, and are required to wear gloves for all diapering/toileting, food handling, and first aid activities. We follow strict state guidelines for disinfecting surfaces and materials in order to slow the spread of germs and disease.
Our staff does not administer oral medications, but parents are welome to stop by the center to administer medication throughout the day as necessary.
Vaccinations:
Currently, NY State requires the following vaccines for children enrolled in childcare centers: DTaP, Polio, MMR, Hepitis B, Hib, Varicella, Pneumococcal.
We suggest spacing out your child’s vaccinations, opting for single vaccinations per visit & per injection (when possible). Medical exemptions are available for specific vaccines, with approval from your pediatric provider.
Quality Standards
Carter & Company is committed to providing exceptional childcare and educational services. In addition to program-specific policies, procedures, and practices, we work with the following organizations to ensure that high quality is upheld at our center:
We are licensed to operate through the NY State Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS). Sate regulations are outlined here for your review! OCFS conducts a minimum of five unannounced visits to the center each year to verify that the program is aligned and following state regulations.
We work with a Health Care Consultant from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County, who helps ensure that our health care policies, emergency plans, stocked health care items, and health-related records stay in compliance throughout the year. She also verifies that our training records indicate first aid, CPR, and anaphylactic response competencies! Our consultant visits the center at least annually and is a year-long resource for the center! Click here to learn more about the Cornell Cooperative Extension!
We partner with a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) to develop meal patterns, meal quality standards, and snack menus for the center. Holistic nutrition is a top priority for our program, as we believe it is an essential component of well-being!
We participate in QUALITYstarsNY, New York State’s Quality Rating & Improvement System for early childhood centers! The program helps centers improve and sustain high-quality practices through data-driven quality assessments and individualized support. Our Quality Improvement Specialist visits the center monthly to discuss opportunities for improvement, set quality goals, and discuss upcoming professional development opportunities. Read more about QUALITYstarsNY here, and review their quality standards here!
Through our participation with these agencies, the center is visited by third-party quality auditors at least 18 times each year!