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 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. 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 current staff members, three have Masters degrees, ten have Bachelor degrees,and one has Early Childhood Certification. In addition, we require that each staff person participate in training each year, often by attending the North Carolina Association of Educators of Young Children conference in the fall. You can read more about our staff by clicking on “Staff” on the menu on our website home page.
We perform 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. We welcome families of other faiths and honor their beliefs, trusting that they will also honor ours.
Q. How many months during the year is the playschool program in operation?
A. We operate nine months of the year, from the day after Labor Day 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 for 2017-18 we will have:
- Twos:
- Two classes, meeting on M/W from 8:45 until 11:30
- Two classes, meeting on T/Th from 8:45 until 11:30
- Two playgroups on Fridays (maximum 11 in each group) made up of the children who are enrolled in our two year old classes . Entry in the playgroups 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:
- One class meeting on MWF and one class meeting 5 days, M-F.
- All four year old classes meet from 8:45 until noon.
Q. Why are your dismissal times staggered?
A. Two reasons:
- Most two year olds are extremely tired and ready to go home after spending over 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.