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General Information

ABSENCES

Please let EEC staff know as soon as possible each day if your child will be absent for any reason, so that we know your child is safe. If we do not receive a message from you by 9am about your child’s absence, your child’s absence will be entered as “unexcused”. Due to CCFAP(child care subsidy) guidelines, students will stop receiving subsidies after 30 absences in a school year. The EEC has only a limited number of spaces available, so we ask each family to commit to bringing their child to school each day they are well enough to attend.

ABUSE AND NEGLECT

The Child Care Services Division and the State of Vermont require all staff members of child care programs to report any and all suspected child abuse or neglect. As early childhood professionals, it is the responsibility and obligation of the staff to report any and all suspicions to the appropriate state agencies. The WNESU school board policy on the reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect is included in the appendix; this and other school board policies can be found at https://www.wnesu.org/school-boards/policies.

As part of our ongoing mission to improve our program, we have an ANNUAL FAMILY SURVEY. This survey each February provides us with invaluable information about how the Early Education Center works for our families and what we could do to make it work better.  

COMMUNICATION

Home-School communication is very important. While we do send home important notes with your child, most of our communication is through email and our district’s communication app. There are newsletters and letters of general information that are sent via email. If you are not a big email user, now is the time to get into the habit of checking email, as email communication is universal in all of our schools. There is also a bulletin board on which we post information. 

We use a district approved communication app to help keep you informed about classroom news and updates. You can put the app on your smartphone, or choose to receive messages as texts without the app. We will send class reminders, school news and updates about your child’s day; you can use it like texting to reach your child’s teacher quickly.

As parents, you know your child better than anyone else; we hope to learn all about your child from you. Family-Teacher Conferences are held twice per year, once in the fall, and once in the spring. Conferences take place at the school, or via zoom if the family prefers. This is a time for parents and teachers to talk about the child and his or her progress. It is also a good time to address any concerns you may have about how your child is doing. We want parents to visit, observe, offer suggestions and let us know how they think we are doing. You are invited to meet with us at any time. 

CURRICULUM

Rather than use a boxed or prepackaged curriculum which can limit the creativity and attentiveness to individual learners, EEC teachers adapt with a flexible approach. We use the Vermont Early Learning Standards to guide our curriculum development, and we pull curriculum from the following:

  • children’s interests
  • teachers’ interests
  • developmental tasks
  • things in the physical environment
  • people in the social environment
  • curriculum resource materials
  • serendipity- unexpected events
  • building Classroom Community: conflict resolution, caregiving, and routines
  • values held in the school and community, family, and culture.

FIELD TRIPS

Field trips are an important part of learning. Parents must sign the field trip permission slip included in the registration packet for local, walking trips. For longer trips using school buses, information and trip-specific permission slips will go home.

FIRE DRILLS

The Early Education Center, in accordance with state regulations, conducts monthly fire drills throughout the year. 

CONFIDENTIALITY

All information provided to the Early Education Center is considered confidential. We do not share this information with other agencies without a parent’s permission or a compelling reason (such as a subpoena or in the case of suspected abuse or neglect). Information about children is shared only with school professionals who are directly responsible for the children. 

HEALTH

Children attending preschool are required to have annual physical exams & up to date immunization records. Health forms and immunizations records must be provided to the Early Education Center prior to a child’s attendance.

All children are expected to be in school every day. Any child who has an elevated temperature, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea should remain at home until symptoms are gone. During the flu and cold season, children should be reminded to practice good hygiene. Routine hand washing is the best preventive measure against viruses and bacteria. 

The following is for the protection and well-being of your child, your child’s classmates, and the staff. Children who are ill may return to school only when they are no longer contagious, are able to be outside, and are in compliance with the following recommended time frames:

 

VOMITING           
12 hours after symptoms have disappeared and child feels well

DIARRHEA                 
12 hours after symptoms have disappeared and child feels well

COLD                                      
24 hours after the child’s temperature returns to normal

FEVER                                     
24 hours after fever has disappeared & child feels well

STREP THROAT    
24 hours after medication is begun or 4 doses of medication

PINK EYE              
24 hours after medication is begun and administered per M.D.         

CHICKEN POX                 
6 days after onset of the rash & after last sore has scabbed

IMPETIGO         
48 hours after medication is begun & all sores are scabbed over

SCABIES                                                           
After doctor’s recommended treatment

Notify us if your child gets pink eye, scabies, head lice, or other communicable conditions.

Additionally, the school nurses at Westminster Center School (722-3241) and Central Elementary School (463-4346) are available to answer your immunization or other health questions.

We follow the policies and procedures that have been adopted by WNESU member districts that include: Blood-borne Pathogens/Exposure Control, Administering Medication to Students, HIV Policy, Head Lice, Wellness Policy, etc. These policies are available at www.wnesu.org/school-boards/policies

TOILETING

While many children entering preschool are comfortable using the toilet, it is okay if your child isn’t there yet. When they are ready, we can support your family and child in this transition.

MEDICATIONS

We encourage parents to (whenever possible) set their child’s medication schedule for outside of school hours. The Early Education Center is only permitted to administer medications prescribed by a physician. A parent or guardian must sign a permission slip for us to administer the medication and include specific times to do so. All containers of medication must include the original label, child’s name, prescription name, dosage and physician’s name. An adult must hand any medications brought in directly to the lead teacher. Parents must adhere to this medication policy at all times.

LICENSING REGULATIONS

The State of Vermont Children’s Day Care Licensing Regulations for Early Childhood Programs is available for parents to review. If you would like to sign-out a copy, just ask. The regulations are also available on the state web site at: https://outside.vermont.gov/dept/DCF/Shared%20Documents/CDD/Licensing/CC-CenterBased-Regs.pdf. You may also call the Child Care Services Division at 1-800-649-2642 to request a copy for yourself. 

NO SMOKING

The Early Education Center is a non-smoking facility. Smoking is never permitted in the building, on the playground or in the presence of children at the school.

HOLIDAYS

While we do not celebrate holidays at WNESU Early Education Center, we do have a special day each month that we celebrate in our preschool community. You will receive a list of these special days from your child’s teacher.

BIRTHDAYS/PARTY INVITATIONS

Please help prevent hurt feelings by sending party invitations either by mail or electronically rather than distributing them during school. Delivery of invitations in a classroom can only occur if ALL students in that group are invited. As with holidays, we do not celebrate birthdays in the classroom; we will, of course, acknowledge your child’s special day with “Happy Birthday” and a song, but we do not allow special snacks or treats to be brought in.

OPEN DOOR POLICY

We have an OPEN DOOR POLICY at the Early Education Center. We invite you to visit your children at any time, just speak to your child’s teacher to set it up. If your child seems to be having difficulty settling into school, we suggest that you wait a few weeks for them to become comfortable before your first visit. We encourage you to talk to us on a daily basis about any concerns you may have. 

PARENT CONCERNS are taken seriously. If you have a concern about your child or about the program, please let the teacher know as soon as possible. We want to work through your concerns with you and need to be aware of what they are to resolve them. It is much easier to resolve any issues as they occur rather than waiting for a long period of time. We will take the appropriate action necessary to resolve any parent concern or question. If, after speaking with the teacher, your concerns remain unresolved, you can make an appointment with Jennifer Keenan, the Early Education Program Principal (802)460-7824. Should your concern require further discussion, you may make an appointment with Andrew Haas, WNESU Superintendent (802)463-9958. If meeting with the above-mentioned people does not satisfactorily resolve your problem, you may then request a meeting with the School Board. Additionally, we are licensed by the state of Vermont. Child Care licensing can be reached at (800)649-2642.

TOYS FROM HOME

We strongly prefer that toys from home stay at home. The exception to this is a special soft toy for rest time. These toys will stay in backpacks or cubbies until rest time.

TRANSFERRING

Transfer between WNESU Early Education Center sites may be available. Families who wish to transfer shall make this request in writing and state their reasons for making this request. Applications for transfer between sites will be considered based on the availability of slots, balanced classes, availability of program resources and appropriateness of transfer. The decision of the WNESU administrator in charge is final.

UNIVERSAL SCREENINGS

WNESU Early Education and Early Childhood Special Education screens all children in our program. Screenings are a brief assessment of a child’s development in many areas: speech/language, motor skills, social skills, learning concepts, etc. Part of this screening process will be a parent-completed questionnaire at the fall parent teacher conferences.

All 4 year olds (children who will be heading to kindergarten next year) will have routine hearing and vision screenings. This is in accordance with state requirements for early detection of hearing/vision impairments. These tests are brief and non-invasive. If you have questions about these screenings or would like to opt out of having your child screened, please notify preschool staff and we will accommodate your request.