Learn More - Richland - Children's Coalition

1	Explore the options and choose your preferred schools.
2	Click on the Apply Now link above to complete a school choice application. You may choose from 1 to 3 schools. You must rank your choices (1,2,3) in the order of your preference.
3	Check your email and/or dashboard for offers and wait list updates. If you have not received an email, please check your email account’s spam/junk filter. It is highly recommended that you periodically log into your account to check your dashboard for updates.

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For questions concerning specific programs or your application, please click on the Early Childhood Sites tab for a list of contacts.

For specific questions about the RICH Network please click on the Contact Us tab.

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Did You Know?

There are only 2,000 days between the time a baby is born and when that child shows up for the first day of kindergarten?
With quality early childhood education, children will be school ready; have higher graduation rates and grow into productive citizens and valuable employees?
In the first few years of life, 700 new neural connections are formed each second?
By the time they enter school, children from advantaged backgrounds may know as many as 15,000 more words than their disadvantaged peers?
High quality early childhood programs improve health and nutrition?
85% of a child's brain is developed by age 3?
Playing with blocks and other building toys teaches children about geometry?
Talking with your child is one of the most important things you can do?
You can help your child learn while driving? Help your child to tell you the color of signs, shapes of signs and count how long you sit at a red light!
Music helps a child learn to rhyme?

There are things you can look for at every age to make sure your child is developing at the right pace and will be school ready:

Developmental Milestones in the First 4 Years

6 Months	1 Year	2 Years	3 Years	4 Years
Looks when name is called	Says the names of favorite toys	Uses 2-3 word sentences	Uses 3-5 word sentences	Says first and last name
Smiles and enjoys being talked to	Says 1-2 words such as Mama and Dada	Says several words such as No and Mine	Tells a simple story	Asks when, why and how questions
Babbles back and forth	Enjoys peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake	Follows simple directions	Says their own name and age when asked	Knows opposites: hot/cold, big/little
Makes both happy and sad noises	Imitates waving bye-bye or blowing a kiss	Scribbles with crayon, may imitate lines and circles	Plays with other children	Counts out 10 items
Helps hold bottle during feedings	Points with index finger	Turns pages of a book one at a time	Can name a friend or caregiver	Recognizes own name in print
Rolls over both ways	Uses thumb and index finger to pick up small items, such as cereal	Stacks 6 blocks	Repeats simple rhymes and songs	Colors within the lines and can draw a face
Plays with own toes	Has a preferred caregiver	Feeds self with a spoon and drinks from a cup	Walks up steps	Enjoys pretend play
Sits up with little support needed	Crawls on hands and knees	Points to hair, eyes, ears and nose	Rides a tricycle	Names 4 colors
Reaches and picks up a toy	Reaches up with arms to be picked up	Plays by pushing, pulling and dumping toys	Jumps with both feet coming off the ground	Copies circle, square and triangle shapes
Transfers an object from hand to hand	Walks around furniture and may take a few steps	Walks well and starts to run	Takes turns	Uses scissors

Why are quality early childhood experiences so important?

Nourishing a child’s mind in the first five years of life is as essential as feeding the body. New scientific research confirms that what happens to children’s brains in their earliest years shapes the adults they become, the success they achieve, and the contributions they make to our economy and society.

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Our Mission Statement

The goal of the RICH Network is to make high-quality, early care and education available to all eligible children in Richland Parish, so they enter kindergarten healthy and ready for success. Part of that goal is to also help families make the best choices for their early learner's education, and to be involved in supporting their child's early development.