Wausau ECE Grad Earns 5-Star Rating for In-Home Childcare

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A Wausau campus early childhood education graduate recently earned Wisconsin’s highest rating for quality in-home child care—and she’s the only child care provider in Sauk County to receive the rating.Sheri Weldy, who received the 5-star rating, has owned and managed Loving Care Day Care and Preschool for 10 years and is licensed to care for up to eight children. Wisconsin’s Department of Children and Families created the YoungStar program in early 2010 to provide the best child care for children living in the state. The program rates the quality of care of given to children by care providers, helps parents choose the best child care for their children, supports providers with tools and training and sets a consistent standard for child care, according to the department website. As soon as Weldy heard about the program, she knew she wanted to become a part of it—and earn the highest rating possible. But that meant she had to go to school for early childhood education to earn the 5-star rating, as an associate degree in ECE was required to be eligible for consideration. “Sheri was absolutely determined to get a 5-star rating,” said Joyce Monfort, Wisconsin School of Education state program coordinator. “She got a straight 4.0 [grade point average] with the college—that was very important to her. She worked very hard, and if she didn’t do something right she would redo it. It’s how she approached everything … she did what she needed to do to be the best at it and it showed and paid off.” Throughout her journey to earning her degree at Rasmussen College’s Wausau campus she made many changes to her child care services, including performing quality observation and using those observations to better personalize the curriculum for the children in her care. She also made changes to the play areas ...

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