Frequently Asked Questions
Registration
When do classes begin? And can my child start mid-year?
How is enrollment handled? Do current families get priority?
Do you ever grant exceptions to the age requirement?
How do you set tuition?
What about fundraising? What are the requirements?
Participation
Can I bring my baby when I'm working in the classroom?
What about child care for younger siblings? Do I need to hire a babysitter when I'm working in the classroom?
What about twins? Will I have to work two days, one for each child?
May I stay with my child when it's not my work day?
Is attendance at the evening meetings mandatory?
Classroom
Do the 2- and 3-year-olds share the same space with the 4- and 5-year-olds?
What about academics? Do you teach reading and writing? How will my child be prepared for kindergarten?
What about discipline in the classroom? How are conflicts dealt with?
Are children required to be potty-trained?
How do I know these other enrolled parents are trustworthy?
Registration
When do classes begin? And can my child start mid-year?
Please read the enrollment information
for start dates for both the regular school year and the summer
program. If we have any open spaces, families are welcome to join
mid-year. You may ask for a tour any time, please contact our membership coordinator.
How is enrollment handled? Do current families get priority?
Applications for enrollment shall be considered in the following order:
1. Continuing students in good standing.
2. New students of current members and alumni in good standing.
3. All other interested parties.
We begin accepting enrollments during the month prior to Open House for each year. The first two weeks of that month will be reserved for priority #1. The following two weeks are open to priority #1 and #2. At the Open House, registration is open to all interested parties. We do maintain a waiting list when a class fills at the Open House, which often happens. We encourage interested families to get on the waiting list if they happen to miss the enrollment period, as there are almost always a few families who drop out due to a move or change in a job situation. There is a registration fee of $50 per family, due at the time of registration.
Do you ever grant exceptions to the age requirement?
Because of our licensing requirements, all children must be at least 2 years of age to be enrolled in the toddler class. Exceptions are taken into consideration on a case by case basis. Please talk to our membership coordinator with any specific questions.
How do you set tuition?
We divide our yearly expenses by the nine months school is in session to calculate the monthly tuition. We do not charge any separate class materials fees, and we do not have mandatory scrip requirements. The only additional fee is the yearly registration fee of $50 per family.
What about fundraising? What are the requirements?
Unfortunately, fundraising is a fact of life for all schools. Our tuition only covers our fixed expenses, such as rent and teacher salaries. All other costs, such as classroom art materials and improvements to our facility, are paid for through fundraising. Westside hosts two major fundraising events every year, a Children's
Harvest Festival in the fall and a Silent Auction in the spring. For
both events, each family is required to take a work shift, purchase or
sell a minimum number of tickets, and provide some supplies such as
baked goods, prizes, or items for the auction baskets. These are both fun events for our community. Last year at the Harvest Festival, the children enjoyed a 4-H petting zoo, face painting, games, prizes, a costume parade, and more. Our 2009 Silent Auction was held at Gordon Biersch and included live music and activities for the children.
Participation
Can I bring my baby when I'm working in the classroom?
We're sorry, but no. When you become a participating parent you are accepting the role of a classroom teacher as well as that of a parent; in fact, our children's school experience is dependent on the consistent and effective presence of the parents. We need all of the working parents to be able to focus 100 percent on the classroom activities and on maintaining the parent to student ratio, which ensures our children's safety..
However, a leave of absence from working in the classroom for up to six weeks may be granted for medical or personal reasons, at the discretion of the teacher.
What about child care for younger siblings? Do I need to hire a babysitter when I'm working in the classroom?
Some parents do hire a sitter for their classroom working day, or share a sitter with another family that also needs childcare, or find a relative or neighbor to stay with a younger sibling. Members will also sometimes arrange babysitting co-ops amongst themselves. If you are considering enrolling but are concerned about childcare for a younger sibling, please contact our membership coordinator to discuss possible solutions.
What about twins? Will I have to work two days, one for each child?
No. For families with multiples (twins, triplets) in one class, these parents will work the same hours as those with only one child in the class so long as parent to child ratios are kept. However, parents of multiples shall be the first to step in when unforeseen absences are presented such as maternity/sick leave and last minute absences. If ratios are not met or issues arise, it will be the teacher's discretion to work out a solution with the parents on a case by case situation.
May I stay with my child when it's not my work day?
Yes! While some of the children are comfortable from day one, some are slower to warm up, and both reactions are perfectly normal and healthy.
Is attendance at the evening meetings mandatory?
Yes! A combined General Meeting and Adult Education Meeting will be held every month, September through May. These meetings are important for scheduling information, for classroom planning, for adult education, and for building our community. Meeting time is 7:00-9:30 p.m. Members are allowed one excused absence. If you have a regular conflict on meeting nights you must discuss special arrangements with your teacher.
Classroom
Do the 2- and 3-year-olds share the same space with the 4- and 5-year-olds?
Our facility has shared outside play space, yes. However, the space is big enough and there are enough different activity areas that there is plenty of room for all the children to explore. Inside the school, the Toddler class has their own small playroom and their own snack/art space. The Threes class (Tuesday/Thursday) and the Pre-K class (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) use the larger classroom for circle time, play, and art, plus the kitchen for their snack time.
What about academics? Do you teach reading and writing? How will my child be prepared for kindergarten?
Yes, academics are taught, but in a manner that is appropriate to the child's age and stage of development.
Academics are taught through play. Play integrates all learning styles. Curriculum is hands on and interrelated so concepts are reinforced and make sense to the child. The teachers set the classroom environment so that learning experiences are available in every area of the curriculum.
Math is learned through blocks, songs, counting rows of cars, numbers on a calendar, measuring and sorting
Science is learned during snack (cooking), at the sensory table or water table by filling, pouring, sinking, floating, comparing etc., during small group when making gak, goo, volcanoes, etc.
Reading is learned through letter recognition on name tags and cubby labels, children's library, daily story time, matching games
Art is learned through self expression, fine motor skill activities, exploring different mediums
Music is learned through songs, culture, rhythm and movement
Writing is learned by the youngest students when manipulating writing instruments and making pre-writing scribbles. The Pre-K children are learning to write or are writing their own name on their work and recognizing letters as they work in small groups and play games such as Alphabet Bingo.
Circle time provides the opportunity to share in front of a group, learn self control, listening skills and how to follow directions, the basics for kindergarten success. Our alumni and kindergarten teachers at our neighboring schools tell us the children are very successful and self confident young learners ready for kindergarten.
What about discipline in the classroom? How are conflicts dealt with?
At Westside, we use Positive Discipline as the primary method of helping children learn from their mistakes and develop problem-solving skills. The key to positive discipline is not punishment, but mutual respect. With the younger children, often simply recognizing the conflict and providing some redirection is all that's needed. (You really want to use that digger! But I can't let you grab. Look, could we use this shovel to fill this dump truck instead?) With the older children, we strive to turn moments of conflict into opportunities to practice problem-solving. (Oops! We have two girls who really want to ride the same tricycle! But I can't let you push like that, someone could get hurt. Hmm, let's find a solution so everyone can play.)
Families new to Westside attend a classroom orientation and are given a member handbook with classroom rules and suggestions for handling common situations. And at our first general meeting of the year we host a speaker on the topic of positive discipline, which is always a good refresher even for the returning families. (For more information on positive discipline, see the book Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen Ed.D.)
Are children required to be potty-trained?
No. Children develop toilet skills at their own pace, and we respect that. Our teachers can work with you to help reinforce your child's toilet learning.
How do I know these other enrolled parents are trustworthy?
All of our parent classroom volunteers are working under the guidance of our teachers. The teachers ensure that the children are being properly supervised and that all the classroom volunteers are completing their assigned tasks. The teachers are always available to discuss any concerns or questions the parents might have, and most of the time a quick email or a discussion during the parent-teacher class meeting will solve the problem.
We also run a criminal background check on all parent volunteers before they can participate at the preschool. This is a requirement of Westside Preschool's Sexual Misconduct Insurance provider to ensure the safety of our children. Background checks consist of a computerized nationwide search of court-level felony and misdemeanor records, traffic records, Department of Corrections data, and information from state sex-offender registries. We use social security numbers to verify this information.
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