Parent Handbook

The Tech Center Preschool is designed with a two-fold purpose; one is teaching the student teaching assistants how to teach and the other is preparing three, four and five year-old children for kindergarten success.

We adhere to and endorse the guidelines from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), which state that "although the quality of an early childhood program may be affected by many factors, a major determinant of program quality is the extent to which knowledge of child development is applied in program practices--the degree to which the program is developmentally appropriate." Recognizing that there are a number of different ways in which children learn, we provide both small group and large group learning activities, where children receive information and exchange thoughts with peers, as well as engage in large blocks of time for individual play and learning. Because we respect and foster each child's individuality, we constantly assess development and adjust the program to suit individual needs and interests. Our goal is to provide a challenging, integrated, developmentally appropriate and nurturing environment for each child in our care.

The child will have an opportunity to learn lessons appropriate for their stage of development by interacting with the student teaching assistants, teachers and the other children. The student teaching assistants are learning through the Early Childhood Instructors’ guidance to prepare valuable lessons in math, science, language arts, art, and social studies. The student teaching assistants utilize ideas from both the “Creative Curriculum” approach as well as the “Virginia’s Foundation Blocks for Early Learning”. The children will explore their world through play. Not all children learn at the same rate so we encourage parents to talk with your child daily to note their progress.

The Early Childhood Education Instructors are mandated reporters of suspected child abuse. State and local procedures are taught to the student teaching assistants; however, the responsibility is for the Early Childhood Education Instructors to follow through with reporting.

Communication between Early Childhood Education Instructors and parents is critical to the success of our program. Student teaching assistants are learning how to communicate effectively with our parent partners; however, all matters relating to the children, their progress, and preschool policies are to be discussed with the Early Childhood Education Instructors. Should parents have a concern that is not resolved with the instructor, they should then seek assistance from the school’s director.

Preschool payments will be made on the following schedule: October, December, February and April. Payment is $125.00 each with a total of $500.00 year. If there is an issue with payment, please let one of the instructors know as soon as possible. At the end of the school year, you will be provided a receipt for the entire year along with our Tax ID number for your tax recording purposes.

Our high school students will be participating in two student leadership organizations (FCCLA/Family Community Career Leaders of America) and Educator’s Rising. We will be using two tuition payments for this learning opportunity. Your payment and receipt can still be used for tax and childcare purposes. Your December tuition receipt will say “ECE Tuition/FCCLA Fundraiser” and the February tuition receipt will say “ECE Tuition/Ed Rising Fundraiser.” This allows us to put some of our preschool profits into our leadership accounts. Leadership group activities include opportunities for our students to plan and carry out various community service events. Additionally, it provides the students FCCLA/Ed Rising membership and the ability to attend state/national conferences, competitions and training workshops.

Arrival: Consistent attendance is important to ensure that the children involved in the program feel secure in the school environment. The student teaching assistants will greet the children at the West end of the building in the parking places reserved for you for the child’s arrival. The students will walk the child into school.

Dismissal: For dismissal you are requested to come into the building, show your pick-up card, and sign your child out. If someone other than the parents is picking up your child, they must have a pick-up card as well. The pick-up cards are issued the first day of school. You will need to list the people who are allowed to pick up your child in case of emergency and they will be issued a card with your child’s name on it. This person must be prepared to show identification along with the card when picking up your child.

Preschool Parking: There are reserved parking places for preschool parents located by the playground on the west side of the school building.

We rely upon the parents of our preschoolers to help our program run smoothly; therefore, your adherence to the following responsibilities is greatly appreciated.

1. Parents are to provide the following by the first day of school:

- completed application

- copies of current physical exam and shot records

- current emergency cards

2. We ask that tuition be paid in a timely manner of four equal payments ($125.00 each). Payments will be received in October, December, February and April. Please make checks payable to the “Tech Center” and include the child’s name. Cash and credit cards are also accepted. We will write a receipt and provide you with a balance owed.

3. Please see that personal items do not come to school. We cannot be responsible for them as they tend to become mixed in with preschool items.

4. Should there be a problem with one of our student teaching assistants, please advise us of your concern so we may conference with them.

Positive discipline techniques are used in the Tech Center Preschool. We guide children by teaching them how to interact appropriately. We do not isolate children in time out or punish. We teach the children how to negotiate their position as well as to “use their words” to settle differences. We attempt to redirect children when they are doing something that is not appropriate.

We ask parents to be responsible for maintaining the information on an emergency card kept on the check-in desk. Should we need to leave the building we have a policy in place with North Landing Elementary School. We would take the children on a “field trip” to North Landing Elementary from where we would call you using the phone numbers you have provided on the emergency card. The children would be picked up from the Courthouse Estates Gate.

The lab has an open-door policy. You are encouraged to visit and observe your child at any time. There is a school wide system policy if you decide to celebrate your child’s birthday, that you bring treats that have been purchased from the store. Please let us know if you wish to do this so that we can adjust our snack menu accordingly. We suggest mini cupcakes or donuts. Please consult with the Early Childhood Education instructors about this in order to make sure that food allergy concerns are addressed.

Should you need to withdraw the child from the program, we ask you advise us of the date so the account may be settled. Should a concern arise about your child’s continued participation in the program, we would need to have a conference to determine strategies to remedy the concern. If the conference failed to alleviate the problem, then you would be asked to remove your child from the program to protect the other children and student teaching assistants.

Please dress the child comfortably for play. Tempera, glue, and other messy non-toxic products are used for lessons. We attempt to take the children outside daily to play on the playground equipment. Please send in a change of clothing labeled in a Ziploc bag in case of a clothing emergency. We cannot allow open-toed shoes (sandals/flip-flops) due to safety issues. Please have your child wear tennis type shoes to preschool. They may keep a pair of tennis shoes here if necessary.

The teachers and directors will administer simple first aid for cuts, etc. If we question the severity, we will consult with the school nurse and make a determination if the parent needs to be called. All accidents are recorded, and a report is placed in the child’s cubby for you.

In consideration of the lab, please keep the child home should they show any of the following symptoms:

a. a temperature over 100 degrees

b. intestinal upset along with diarrhea, vomiting or other signs of illness

c. a discharge from the eyes

d. nasal discharge

Please administer your child’s medications before or after preschool hours. Should the child become ill at school, we will call you to come pick up the child. Should a communicable disease (i.e. pink eye) present itself in the Tech Center preschool classroom, an informative note will be sent home. To protect confidentiality, the child’s name will not be disclosed.

Snacks are provided daily, most of which will meet nutritional guidelines. There will be some days that the snack will be a part of the learning activities and may not fall within those guidelines. Please remember to bring to our attention any allergies that we will need to monitor. The student teaching assistants will be learning how to read labels to avoid purchasing items that might cause allergic reactions.

The Tech Center has fire and lock down drills regularly. For a fire drill, the children will be taken by the teachers to the flagpole at the front of the building. If children are arriving during the fire drill, please wait with your child until the drill is concluded. For lock down drills, the children and teachers will sit quietly in the student locker room. For tornado drills, the children and teachers will sit in the hallway against the wall.