Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why are you called a "playschool"?
A. That name was chosen because the program has always emphasized play as an essential part of a child's learning experience. An abundance of research supports that belief. For more information on this topic, click on "Why Playschool?" on the homepage of our website. You may also want to read my blog entries on the subjects of play and active learning.
Q. Do the children learn, or just play?
A. The children in our program learn through play. We have excellent feedback from the public schools telling us that children from our program arrive in kindergarten exceptionally well-prepared.
Q. Is your program licensed by the state?
A. Yes. We operate under a GS 110-106 letter of compliance, which means that we are inspected annually by the Health Department, the Fire Department and the NC Division of Child Development to assure that we meet all safety, health, and sanitation requirements.
Q. Is your staff trained in CPR and First Aid?
A. Yes. We offer CPR training to all of our staff, and require that at least one staff member from each teaching team become certified. This goes beyond the state requirement. We offer First Aid training to those staff members who work five days a week, so that there will always be more than one person on site with the training. In addition, we are fortunate to be located next door to the Burlington Fire Department, so we always have ready access to trained paramedics!
Q. What kind of qualifications do your teachers have?
A. Our staff members are our biggest asset. They are exceptionally caring, dedicated, and well-trained. Among our 18 staff members, one has a Masters degree, ten have Bachelor degrees, one has an Associate degree, three have Early Childhood Certification and three have taken some type of college coursework. In addition, we require that each staff person participate in 8 hours of training each year. Many are able to fulfill that requirement by attending the North Carolina Association of Educators of Young Children conference each fall. You can read more about our staff by clicking on "Staff" on the menu on our website home page.
As part of our licensing requirements we perform state and local criminal record checks on all of our playschool staff.
Q. What type of religious instruction do you provide?
A. Three and four year old classes attend a short weekly chapel time presented by one of the church staff. This generally takes the form of Bible stories and songs. All classes say a blessing at snack time. We emphasize the Christian meanings of Christmas and Easter. We do our best to model Christian values.
Q. How many months during the year is the playschool program in operation?
A. We operate nine months of the year, from the first week of September through the last full week in May. During that time period we follow the ABSS regular calendar for holidays and workdays.
Q. What classes do you offer for different ages of children?
A. The specific classes we offer depends on the demand we have, but we can have up to three classes each of twos, threes and fours.
Q. How many days do classes meet, and which days and times?
A. Again this depends on the demand, but this year we have:
- Twos:
- Two classes, meeting on T/Th from 9:00 until 11:30
- One class, meeting on M/W from 9:00 until 11:30
- A playgroup on Fridays is open to 11 of the children who are enrolled in our two year old classes. Entry in the playgroup is determined by lottery.
- Threes:
- One class, meeting on T/Th from 8:45 until 11:45
- Two classes, meeting on MWF from 8:45 until 11:45
- Fours:
- In the past we have had two classes meeting five mornings a week, but this year we have one five day class.
- There are currently two classes that meet three mornings a week, on MWF.
- All four year old classes meet from 8:45 until noon.
Q. Why are your arrival and dismissal times staggered?
A. Two reasons:
- Most two year olds are extremely tired and ready to go home after two and a half hours in a group setting.
- We are located in a downtown church. If everyone in our program tried to pick-up children at the same time it would create quite a traffic jam, and since we are next door to the fire department, and in close proximity to the police department, that would create a very unsafe situation.
Q. What are the costs for a child to attend your program?
A. Our fees for the 2012-13 year will remain the same as for this past year:
- Registration fee
- Members of Front St. UMC - $40
- Non-members - $50
- Tuition is divided into 9 equal monthly payments based on number of days attended per week:
- Two days a week - $100 per month
- Three days a week - $ 125 per month
- Five day fours - $ 175 per month
- If we have any spaces available after our initial registration, a three year old may be enrolled in both a 2 day and a three day class, a total of five days. In order to meet our budget, we must receive the full tuition for each of those classes, a total of $225 for the five days.
- We charge a supply/snack fee twice yearly, once in September and once in January.
- $30 for 2 day a week classes
- $35 for 3 day a week classes
- $40 for 5 day a week four year old classes
Front Street UMC Playschool
P.O. Box 2597
136 S. Fisher St.
Burlington, NC 27216
336-227-6603
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