Inclusive Curriculum Practice & Communication
We discuss a variety of contemporary topics within our curriculum and believe in having age-appropriate, honest conversations with children. The topics of gender-identity, anti-racism, anti-sexism, disability rights activism, and consent will be included regularly within our book explorations and conversations with the children. We celebrate autism and different learning styles and always try to meet children where they are developmentally as opposed to holding children to standardized developmental milestones. As teachers we feel that we are best able to support your children when caregivers and teachers are on the same page about children’s development and learning. We honor confidentiality while believing in balancing this with a sense of community transparency. Caregivers are always welcome within our learning spaces and are welcome to schedule observation times of the teachers should there be any curiosity about how we interact and respond to children.
Overall, Brit and Britt practice a gentle approach with firm and consistent boundaries that we discuss regularly with the children. The rhythm of our day supports the children’s innate ability and desire to care for others, their play things, and their environment. Above all else this sense of caring for one’s community is fostered in our daily practice with the children. We also support children’s bodily autonomy and actively discuss the idea of consent. Consent for the youngest child is often them raising their arms up when they want to be held. We believe in allowing children to have the time and space away from adult “helping hands” to discover what feels safe and how they can move their bodies through challenging experiences. As teachers we may speak up with helpful suggestions or we may watch silently in order to allow children to develop their own boundaries and abilities for their physical self. We are mindful that this process looks different depending on children’s ages. We believe in age appropriate risky play and practice it with adult supervision daily. This can mean anything from allowing a three year old to practice walking on a wiggly log, to actively being taught to use a hammer and nails. If ever caregivers have questions or concerns, Brit & Britt’s first question is going to be, do you want to come meet with us and observe the daily rhythm? This face-to-face, in person discussion and community transparency is a pillar of our teaching-style.
School Cancellations
SNOW/ BAD WEATHER DAYS: We will follow the Windham county school district for declaration of snow days. Brit will also send a mass-text/email declaring when snow days have been called. We will not refund or make-up for snow days. Families will be obligated to pay for a maximum of 5 snow or weather complication days per school year. (My example of a weather complication cancellation is that strong winds knock down a tree and power lines, rendering it impossible to reach us safely for many hours or the full school day.) Whenever possible, we will always try to simply delay school as opposed to full cancellation of the school day.
SPPS is located at the end of a hilly dirt road, so we advise families to be mindful of this. Please drive a 4-Wheel drive vehicle - if you have one available to you - in bad weather. If you do not have a 4-Wheel drive vehicle, considering a car-pool option with another caregiver may be a good route of getting the children to school as safely as possible.
If in the unlikely situation that school must be closed due to a lack of a substitute and one of the teachers is out sick, families will be obligated to pay for a maximum of 3 days in a school year.
Late Pick Up Fees
Signal Pine Playschool does a rolling pick up between 3:30 and 4:00pm. You are welcome to pick up children anytime within that 30 minutes, but all children must be picked-up by 4pm sharp. Every 5 minutes beyond 4:00pm there will be a $10 charge, which will be added into your monthly tuition payment.
Aftercare Beyond 4:00pm is not available.
Tuition & Late Fees
Signal Pine Playschool offers full-day programs only for the 2022-2023 school year. The cost of Signal Pine Playschool is $65/day.
We offer a tuition payment discount for on-time payments, lowering the cost to $60/day. Payments are due on the first of the month.
Monthly Break Down of tuition cost
*With the on-time discount:
5 Day Program: $60/ day, $300/ week, $1,200/ month
3 Day program: $720/month
2 Day Program: $480/month
Payments made after the first of the month will cost:
5 Day program $65/ day, $325/week, $1,300/month
3 Day monthly - $780/month
2 Day program - $520/month
The first tuition payment is due by August 1, 2022. Along with this, we also need all enrollment paperwork, your child’s most recent immunization forms, and a well-visit report from their doctor by that due date. We cannot hold your spot if the according paperwork is not turned in by August 1st, 2022.
If late payments go beyond two weeks late, childcare will be suspended until the bill has been paid in full.
Planned Extended Absence
If your family has an extended period of time where your child will be absent, we need at least 1-month notice of this absence. Failure to give adequate notice will result in you having to cover the tuition payments for the duration of your child’s absence. (For example if you plan to go on vacation for the month of January, we need to know this information no later than November 30th) Absences of 1 or 2 weeks are not long enough for us to be able to fill your child’s place at school and so if the absence is only for 1 or 2 weeks, you will be expected to pay tuition for that missed time.
We will not refund or make-up for snow days or illness of a child. If in the unlikely situation that school must be closed due to a lack of a substitute and one of the teachers is out sick, families will be obligated to pay for a maximum of 3 days in a school year.
Refunds, Withdrawal, &
Schedule Changes
Our program is a small family childcare and is based upon enrollment from the beginning of the school year in September; therefore it is very important to have good communication if you decide for any reason that you need to withdraw your child. You must give us at least 3 weeks notice and are responsible for paying any tuition payments that fall within the first 4 weeks after you have withdrawn your child or until we can fill your spot, whichever happens first.
We will not refund or make-up for snow days, or illness of a child. If in the unlikely situation that school must be closed due to a lack of a substitute and one of the teachers is out sick, families will be obligated to pay for a maximum of 3 days in a school year.
Illness Policy & Exclusion of Care
Exclusion policies for illness are more strict at this point in time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our morning check-in will include a temperature check, questions concerning COVID-19 symptoms and contact, and a visual review of the child’s physical wellbeing for any unusual symptoms. For the time being, we ask that caregivers mask at pick-up and drop off and any child aged 2+ who is able to mask, does mask. These policies are subject to change depending on how open vaccination changes the rates of the spread of COVID-19. Both Brit & Britt are fully vaccinated and plan to take any following booster shots next sick season whenever/if ever they become available. Signal Pine PlaySchool policy asks that caregivers plan to “round up” when your child has experienced illness, so if the last time that they vomited was 12 noon the day before, please plan to hold your child at home for the next full school day. We will not accept children at 12 noon the following school day.
The following guidelines are provided by the Vermont Department of Health:
Children may attend if they:
Have a cough or clear runny nose, if these symptoms are a result of medically diagnosed allergies and not accompanied by a fever and have tested negative for COVID-19, have had no fever for 72 hours, and have none of the COVID-19 symptoms listed below.
Children may not attend if they:
Have been in close contact with with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days. Have symptoms, been tested for COVID, and are awaiting results, are at high risk due to underlying health conditions, are sick for any reason.
Children also may not attend if they are experiencing any of the following:
Cough, fever, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with the chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell. Fever higher than 100.4 degree Fahrenheit. Severe sore throat that lasts more than 48 hours, especially with a fever. Significant rash, particularly when other symptoms are present. Large amounts of discolored nasal discharge. Severe ear pain. Uncontrolled cough. Diarrhea. Vomiting. Severe headache, especially with a fever. Other signs of illness.
If symptoms begin while children are at school, they will be sent home immediately. Signal Pine PlaySchool states that you must pick up your sick child yourself as quickly as possible and ideally, within 45 minutes of being called. Also please note that if you plan to be further than 1 hour away from the school, we ask that you notify the teachers in the morning of who we should call should illness or emergency occur during the school day. If the child has a fever greater than 100.4 F, they must remain home until they have had no fever for 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications such as ibuprofen (Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol).
Please text or call one of your child’s teachers before 8:30am if your child is unable to attend school. if your child becomes sick at school, you will be contacted through the information you provided for your emergency contacts so that your child can be picked up. These emergency contacts are listed on your enrollment form. It is important that you keep Brit Quell up to date with any changes.
Physical Harm & Injury Policy
When children injure themselves enough to draw blood or potentially leave a mark or bruise, teachers fill out and provide caregivers with a “injury report.” These reports are also documented online in an official record with the State of Vermont. Injury reports are only shared with teachers, the child’s caregivers, and the State of Vermont.
We as teachers always maintain confidentiality between families. In relation to this need to maintain confidentiality, when conflicts between two children occur, we will only discuss those difficulties with all caregivers present. Caregivers are encouraged to ask their own children about the conflict that occurred and teachers are happy to chat about the situation without naming names. If caregivers or teachers feel that a meeting is necessary because of repeated incidents within children’s play-dynamics, we can do our best to schedule, facilitate, and encourage this. However, we cannot require caregivers to agree to a meeting. We also acknowledge that while we try to meet the needs of all our students, there may be times where the needs of the students and the needs of the school are not well matched.
In the case of interpersonal conflicts between children or caregivers, it is always best to remember that our children are looking to us as models, so before major decisions are made about any situation it is always best practice to sit down all together and have a conversation face to face. Brit and Britt can facilitate this type of meeting whenever it may be deemed necessary. Open and honest communication is a value of Signal Pine Playschool.
Resident Dogs & Chickens
Signal Pine PlaySchool has three resident dogs that live on site in addition to some coop-kept laying hens. We follow all state regulations for the interactions between animals and children. For the dogs this includes yearly up to date vaccinations (including rabies), up-to-date flea and tick protection, the proper disposal of all animal feces, and annual testing for heartworm and other parasites. Brit’s dogs are still young, only two years old, but have been raised with children and taken part in over 6 months worth of biweekly, one-on-one personal training with a dog trainer. The older dog who lives upstairs will remain inside of his home during school hours anyway, but will be held to the same testing requirements. Caregivers will be required to sign a consent form acknowledging that the dogs and the children may at times share space. Both Charlie and Frankie (Brit’s dogs) are crate trained as well and can be tucked into their beds should they become stressed for any reason or if the children need to eat inside of Brit’s apartment due to weather and/or severe low temperatures.