LICENCES & RULES

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Welcome to Old City Child Care & Learning Center. This parent handbook is shared with you to provide information that is helpful to you regarding the center policies and procedures. It is updated yearly to reflect new information, and I welcome suggestions from you regarding information that should be included. I wish you and your child a good school year.

All of the dedicated, caring staff at Old City Child Care & Learning Center want to be certain that your child has the very best early childhood experience possible. We want to thank you for entrusting us with that privilege and responsibility.

Please take the time to read all the following information to help you better understand our program and philosophy. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the preschool director.

Our Philosophy

It is a mission of the Old City Child Care & Learning Center to provide a fully integrated early child care program to foster the child’s social and emotional growth as well as their physical and mental development. Additionally, we have implemented the High Reach curriculum in our programs for two year olds and pre-schoolers. The High Reach program includes age appropriate lesson plans, classroom materials and a parent newsletter filled with activities you can do with your child at home.

Old City Child Care & Learning Center offers a no-pressure environment in which children have an opportunity to be the agents of their own learning. This philosophy of respect for children and their ability to make choices builds self-esteem and creates a foundation of learning that is purely positive; therefore, the child’s relationship to school will be positive as the child moves on to grade school. Children will always choose to learn when they are ready for the challenge. Forcing a child into an activity that may be beyond their developmental abilities only teaches a child that the activity is difficult and should generally be avoided. Consequently, we employ game playing teaching techniques, freedom, validation and abundant support and affection to generate enthusiasm for learning. Old City Child Care & Learning Center graduates are invariably ready for kindergarten.

Our mixed-age open classroom stimulates complex socialization in a completely stable environment. The children do not find themselves among strangers as they are trying to develop their sense of the world. They are never moved from classroom to classroom as the years go by. This stability encourages exploration in children, because the safety net has been established through the constancy of care. For certain activities, including pre-K preparation “meetings”, library visits, or certain cultural events, we do split the group by age.

Curriculum

Old City Child Care & Learning Center curriculum is a discovery-based learning experience that gives each individual child the opportunity to move through specially designed learning centers of his or her own level of interest and ability. The curriculum focuses on learning basic concepts and skills through hands-on experiences and activities. Some centers are designed to develop large and small motor skills while others are more academically oriented. Through our program, each child is given the tools needed to encourage the growth of the whole child.

Goals of the Curriculum

• To provide a positive sense of identity and emotional well-being
• To develop age-appropriate social, physical, language and literacy skills
• To encourage thinking, reasoning, questioning and experimentation
• To provide exposure to the arts and encourage creative expression
• To demonstrate proper health, safety and nutritional practices
• To respect gender, age and cultural diversity

Separation from the Parent

The process of separation from the parent as the child enters and attends preschool is one of the most important accomplishments of the preschool child.
At each age level, a child will react differently. As children mature, they begin to identify themselves as independent personalities. In separating from you, the parent, your child is learning:
• To develop an interest in the activities of the preschool
• To feel comfortable with others at preschool
• To understand that his/her parent will come back and pick him/her up
• To understand that all parents leave their children and come back for them
• To understand that parents often must concentrate on their own interests and duties which are separate and different from those of a child
• To develop an acceptance and willingness to allow the parent an open-door policy
It is important to point out that sooner or later after the initial successful adjustment at school is made, all children want to explore the limits of not going to school. This period may occur in October or December or in spring, but it usually lasts only a short time. When this occurs, here are some suggestions which may help you handle the situation:
• Place an emphasis on what the child is doing at school rather than what your activities are while he/she is in school
• See that the child is involved in a specific activity or is in the hands of a teacher before you leave him/her
• Tell the child when you are leaving. Avoid prolonged good-byes
• Ask the teacher for help in separation. We expect the crying and usually the tears are for the parent’s advantage

Parent Information

As school progresses and the children adjust to their new classes, we will try to provide you with continuing information regarding our program at Old City Child Care & Learning Center. We will keep you informed of field trips, holidays, curriculum and other important information through our monthly newsletter, the OCCC Monthly News, and your child’s classroom bulletin board.

Policies/Procedures

Sign-In and Sign-Out

Every child must be signed in and signed out each day. There are no exceptions to this rule. It is a State requirement. You must sign your full name, time and relationship to the child. When someone, other than yourself picks up your child, please be sure to inform him or her of this requirement.

After your child has been signed out, they are not permitted on the center’s equipment. We are not responsible for children once they have been signed out.

Parking

We have parking spaces for your convenience at the garage located on Letitia Street in addition to the off street parking. Please do not leave small children unattended in your car. Do not leave purses in parked cars. We are not responsible for any loss or damage while in the parking lot.

Tardiness

Our class session starts promptly at 9:00 a.m. It is important that your child not be tardy as it is very disruptive to the class. We have also found that any child who is brought in late takes longer to adjust. We are unable to accept a child into center after 10:30 a.m. Please call the office if your child will be late so we can include him/her in our lunch count.

Disaster Preparedness

Our center has an emergency disaster plan in place. Staff members are First Aid and CPR certified and prepared to handle an emergency.

Dismissal Authorization

Please inform us in writing or by telephone if someone other than those originally authorized will be picking up your child. If the staff has not been informed of any different arrangements, we will not have the authority to release your child without your permission.

Tuition Policy

Old City Child Care & Learning Center has weekly and monthly tuition schedules. Weekly scheduled tuition is due on Mondays. A service charge of $8.00 may be added to your account tuition received after Wednesday. Monthly scheduled tuition is due and payable on the first of the month and must reach us by the tenth. A service charge of $35.00 may be added to your account for tuition received after the tenth. Dishonored checks may be assessed an additional fee if received after the tenth. Dishonored checks may be assessed an additional fee of $35.00 Enrollment will be terminated at the discretion of the center for non-payment of tuition.

Should there be any extenuating circumstances that would prevent you from paying on a timely basis, please discuss this with the administrator prior to it becoming a problem.

Vacations and Holidays Observed

Old City Child Care & Learning Center is closed on the following holidays/staff development days:
• Labor Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day After Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day
• New Years Eve
• New Years Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Presidents Day
• Staff Development Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• End of August (Staff Orientation)

Calendar is subject to change

There is no tuition credit allowed for these days.

Medication

As a service to our parents, the office staff will administer medication prescribed by your physician. All medications (prescriptive and over the counter), including topical are given as a courtesy at 12:00 and or 3:00. Medication must be in the original container with the child’s name on the label, as well as the prescription number, name of the medication, dosage and expiration dates. Please add the child’s room number. A permission to administer medication form can be found in the preschool office and it must accompany the medication. The form will be applicable for no more than 10 days.

Meals

Good eating habits and positive attitudes toward food should be established at an early age. At Old City Child Care & Learning Center, we provide Kosher well-balanced meals that include items from the four basic food groups with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables. We also provide nutritionally balanced morning and afternoon snacks. Milk/Juice is provided with every snack or meal.

Meals are prepared by CBS School Food Program, which is a sponsor for the Department of Nutrition. We serve free, reduced or full cost breakfast lunch, snacks and dinner daily. The meals are prepared fresh each day by a chef and not pre-packaged. Second portions are available for hungry appetites. All meals are kosher. Menus are sent home to parents at the beginning of each month and are posted in each classroom and on the web site.

In order for a family to be able to participate in this program, they must fill out an income eligibility form (enclosed) to be submitted to your office. Parents will be notified as to the status of their child/children; free, reduced ($0.30 breakfast, $0.40 lunch, $0.15 snack), or paid($ 1 breakfast, $2 lunch, $0.50 snack). They will then be eligible to receive meals. Form can be submitted throughout the year. If a family wishes to discontinue the food program after enrolling, they may do so at the end of the month as Long as they notify our office before the month is over.

Nap Time

There is a rest period during the day from 12:30-2:30 p.m. for all children. Each child is assigned his/her own cot to sleep on. Sheets, blanket and a small pillow are provided for each child. If your child desires, they can bring in their favorite teddy bear or snuggle toy to sleep with during naptime.

Toilet Training

Old City Child Care & Learning Center accepts children that are not yet potty trained in our toddler programs. Children must be 18 months old. Children are accepted into our preschool program at 2 1/2 years of age but must be completely potty trained. They must be able to use the bathroom independently.

Lost and Found

Please mark all items of personal property that your child brings to center. Items collected without names will be brought to the office. If your child loses an item, please check with the office or your child’s teacher.

Dress Code

Children must be fully dressed when they arrive at the center. Because play activity is such an important part of the curriculum, clothing should be practical and comfortable. No open toed shoes; sandals, jellies or cowboy boots are permitted. Little toes are easily hurt and children have a difficult time on the playground. We also prefer that children do not wear jewelry.

Every child needs to always have a complete change of clothing including socks and underwear. If your child has changed clothing during the day, we will wash the soiled clothes at the center. All clothing must be labeled with the child’s full name.

Biting

As with any behavior, how biting is dealt with depends upon the ages of the children involved, the reason for the biting (if it can be determined), frequency of the biting and many other specific circumstances. General guidelines for biting include:
• Helping the bitten child feel better or providing appropriate first aid, if
warranted.
• Completing an ouch report for the parent of the bitten child.
• Discussing the situation with the biter’s parent.
Depending on the ages and circumstances involved, additional actions might include:
• Discussing a better solution with all children
involved.
• Separation of involved children.
• Showing/giving the biter something appropriate to
bite (teething ring).
• Ensuring that the environment provides enough
challenging activities.
• Carefully observing the involved child to identify
precipitating events and prevent recurrences.
• Maintaining a log to track when the behavior
occurs.
• Conferences with parents to discuss the child’s actions at home,
parental discipline techniques, search for outside resources, etc.
Just as any other behavior issue regarding a child is confidential, the name of the child that has bitten is also confidential, in order to ensure the privacy of the child and family and prevent bias from others enrolled in the center. We will keep you informed as to what steps are being taken and if bites are from the same or a different child. Informative handouts are given to parents regarding biting.

Head Lice

This is a very common occurrence in young children. This has nothing to do with cleanliness. They are very easily transmitted by leaning back in an upholstered chair where someone had previously sat who had head lice, sharing caps or helmets, hair accessories, brushes, combs, even sitting close and touching heads. Random lice checks are conducted by office personnel. If head lice is found on a child, the following steps are taken:
• Parents are notified and child must be picked up from the center.
• That child’s head must be treated with a product formulated to remove head lice.
• Nits must be removed with a special nit comb included in product.
• The child will be excluded from the center the following day.
• Upon returning to the center state health laws require examination of hair and scalp by office personal before returning to the center
• A handout of additional information regarding lice is given to parents at the time of pick-up.

To avoid infestation, it is important to inspect all family members for two weeks and treat if infected. Nits on the scalp may be seen more easily on the hair at the back of the neck and above the ears.
Please be assured that we will do everything possible to prevent infestation in our center. With your support, we will stop the lice from spreading.

What your Child May Bring From Home

Share day is every Friday at which time your child may bring one toy to share with his/her class. Books, cassettes and CDs are welcome any time. Please do not allow your child to bring in items other days. Violent toys, videotapes, books, guns and swords my not be brought to the center.

Birthdays

Birthdays are special and important occasions. You are welcome to bring cupcakes or cookies to share with your child’s class. Please make arrangements with your child’s teacher for any special plans to make your child’s birthday one of a king.

Termination of Enrollment

In certain circumstances, it may be necessary for the Administrator to decide to discontinue a child’s attendance. Such a decision would be based on whether it is in the best interest of that child. Every effort will be made to correct a problematic situation before a final decision is made. Termination of enrollment may be the result of the following:
• Abuse of other children, staff or property
• Disruptive or dangerous behavior
• The center’s inability to meet the child’s needs

Illness

Colds, flu and other contagious diseases seem to occur frequently and spread easily among preschool and toddler children. To help protect your own child’s health and to minimize the possibility of contagion at the center, please keep your child at home if you observe any of the following symptoms:
• Nasal discharge that is green or yellow
• Complaints of ear pain
• Productive cough
• Severe sore throat
• Eyes that are pink, burning or itching or producing discharge
• Diarrhea or vomiting
• Fever

If these symptoms of possibly contagious conditions are observed in your child during the day, you will be called to come pick up your child immediately.
When your child has a fever, please keep him/her at home an additional 24 hours after the temperature returns to normal. This will help to ensure that the illness has actually passed and that your child will be well enough to resume center activities.

Discipline Policy

Preventive Measures To Produce Acceptable Behavior
In order to maintain a happy, healthy, disciplined environment, the children are taught the importance of safety, care of property, good habits, rules of conduct and consideration and respect for others.
Constructive methods of discipline are used to maintain group control and handle individual behavior. Our main focus on discipline (teaching/training) is preventative in nature, as we aim to build self-discipline in the child.

Constructive Measures to Extinguish Unacceptable Behavior

When a child exhibits unacceptable behavior or attitudes, he/she is instructed as to what is wrong and then directed to a positive alternative approach/behavior. Along with these new attitudes and behaviors, the child is guided in the direction of self-discipline by encouraging him/her to make as many decisions as possible within limits.

The limits are as follows:
If a child strikes another child, he/she and the other child are respectfully separated. Each child is asked to explain what happened (define the problem). After each child has verbally given information, they are asked to help solve the problem, talk to each other, reconcile with one another and are redirected to another activity.

If a child is disruptive, he/she will be respectfully asked to stop the behavior. If the child persists to the point of disruption again, he/she is reminded of his/her behavior and how it affects others. If the disruption continues, and the child willfully refuses to yield to instruction, he/she will be separated from the other children. After the child has been separated from the class activity for a short period of time (2 to 5 minutes) he/she will be invited to rejoin the class.

If a child continues to misbehave and disrupt the class, the parents will be asked to come in for a conference to discuss how we can best meet the needs of the child.