We were mentioned in the Statesman!

Safety, security top list of what preschool should offer families

By Walter BrewerMarketing Publications StaffSunday, May 24, 2009

Working parents often get creative when it comes to finding workday care for their children.
Dual-earner couples with job flexibility can develop a rotating schedule that keeps one parent with the child while the other is at the office. The parents may not see each other much, but the children stay with mom and dad and it's inexpensive.
Leaving the child in the care of a responsible friend or relative can be another option. Other parents telecommute so they can stay home and watch the children. Parents using these options often add a few days at a pre-school facility to give everyone a break.
A common alternative, especially for single parents or dual-earner couples with regular weekday schedules, is a traditional all-day pre-school or day-care environment.
Marilee Blackwelder is director of training at Stepping Stone School which offers 18 locations and soon will mark 30 years in business in Austin. She said the term day care inadequately describes the programs schools such as Stepping Stone offer. She prefers child development and early learning to describe what they do.
"Our teachers do lesson plans for the entire day that are reviewed," Blackwelder said. "Planning occurs from the infant room through the after school program ."
When searching for child care, Blackwelder said the most important criteria are the most basic.
"You've got to have the safety and security to start with and move from there," she said. "You don't want just that, but you can't do the other without it."
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Web site (dfps.state.tx.us) can provide licensing information for a Texas child-care facility. The site includes information about choosing a facility and provides a checklist parents can use when they visit a day care. Blackwelder said providers are required to post their licensing and inspection information in a place parents can see.
"Licensing criteria is rigorous, so parents can trust that," she said.
Blackwelder's recommended questions parents can ask when interviewing a provider include:
n How long has the staff been there?
n What kind of training does the staff undergo?
n Is ongoing training provided?
n What's the director's background?
n What kind of learning takes place throughout the day?
"Another thing that they should look for is a place that welcomes them in and always has an open-door policy," Blackwelder said. "Parents should be able to drop by any time and be able to go in."
Finding a place for children during the workday comes easier for some Central Texas workers who can bring their children to the office.
The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) started its in-house day care, the Corner School, more than 20 years ago in the association's building, said Nancy Cotton, associate director of planning and human resources at TASB. Employees can visit their children during the day and see them on the playground from second- and third-floor windows.
Cotton had two children who are now in high school and college go through the program. She said the Corner School played an important role for her when it was time to go back to work after her children were born.
"Most parents know how difficult it is to leave a child to go back to work," she said. At the Corner School "you can bring a child to work and go downstairs to visit when you want. Knowing they're right there eases employees' minds and makes it a better experience to come back to work. It makes employees more productive because they're not worrying about child-care issues."
Cotton said the center has about 60 children, and parents pay rates comparable to those at outside facilities. The school cares for children from the infant months until the time they start kindergarten.
Cotton added that retaining employees and encouraging them to come back to work after their children are born led to the founding of the Corner School. That also was the inspiration for a program at Austin advertising agency T3 that has gained national attention.
Lauren Picarello, public relations executive at T3, said the program, called T3 and Under, was featured on the cover of USA Today recently and has been highlighted on "Good Morning America" and CNN. She said T3 president and CEO Gay Gaddis started the program in 1999 when she faced the loss of key staff members.
"In a six-week period, four of the top employees told her they were pregnant," Picarello said. "At that time there were fewer than 25 employees."
Gaddis decided that after maternity leave the mothers could bring their newborns to work and drafted a policy outlining the program.
Moms and dads with newborns get private offices and if there are several with babies at work, they office near each other to provide support. Babies in the program can come to work until they're 9 months old and parents make other arrangements. In Austin, T3 has a relationship with a nearby day care facility where parents can visit their children easily.
The key for most parents is finding child-care professionals who enjoy children and effectively relay information to parents at the end of the day.
"You can't care for the child without caring for the family," Stepping Stone's Blackwelder said. "We've got to help mom and dad know what's going on so they can go do their job and know and trust that we're doing ours."

Winding down the school year...

Whew! These last few weeks have been jam-packed with activities. The egg hunt, wellness fair, week of the young child, our hugely successful raffle ticket sales and auction, the TCS book fair at Barnes and Noble, Teacher Appreciation Week, T-Day, and the oh-so sweet and fun “Mommy and Me” breakfast had everyone scurrying around like a billion busy bees. Who is ready to wind things down a bit? I know we are!

Along with our staff rearrangement and saying good bye to Ms. Donna, we have a few more happenings around TCS. Our Discovery Room teacher, Ms. Carol is leading the annual “Learning Celebration” on Friday June 5th. Discovery Room Families are invited to attend and celebrate our Pre-K class before we hug them goodbye and send them off to Kindergarten in the fall. The children are working very hard on their program, we hope all loved ones can attend. Please RSVP to Ms. Carol if you will be joining us so we can plan accordingly.

Ms. Donna's last day with us is June 4th. There will be a farewell party for Ms. Donna from 3 to 4 o’clock in the Pecos room on the same day.

On June 19th, there will be a "Table of Tacos" set up in the hall. TCS dads, uncles, grandfathers or friends of the male persuasion who drop off that morning can grab a taco and juice for you and your child to enjoy together in our dining area, out on the picnic tables or in your child’s classroom. This is our way to celebrate the men in our lives before Father's day.

See? -Just a couple of nice, laid back, easy-breezy events to send us blissfully into our summer months.

Speaking of summer, Camp TASB begins June 8th! This year we have tons of fun field trips, over the top science experiments, and team building art projects to keep our campers and counselors on their toes. Kelly Reister will return to TCS to lead our program this summer. Also, returning as assistant camp counselor is Yvette Hernandez. We are so excited they are joining us while they are back in Austin this summer. Shirley and I will be driving the campers this year so one of us will be on each field trip. I will be in and out of the office over the next few weeks preparing for camp. If you need anything at all, please email me or if you need immediate assistance while I'm out, please contact Shirley. Thank you!

Because of the conditions that summer brings, we will try our best to keep the children hydrated. We’ll provide extra water during snack and keep the water flowing during outdoor times. These times may be decreased from time to time because of the heat or broken up with cool down times in between. Stay tuned for a Splash Day schedule. Splash Day will happen every other week this summer, your child’s teacher will provide the details. To help us with our summer routines, please apply sunscreen and or/ bug spray to your child before school in the morning. The teachers are prepared to reapply before their afternoon outdoor times. Please sign the sunscreen/bug spray permission slip in your child’s room.

On behalf of the staff, I’d like to thank you all for making Teacher Appreciation Week so special. You really did a great job letting the teachers know how important their jobs are and the role they play in your child’s life.

I hope you all are having a wonderful day and finding a little time for PLAY!
Stay cool and you keep hydrated too!!!

Jessica

Some pictures from the past few weeks:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jessicamedinafiedler/April?authkey=Gv1sRgCMvv44-L1aWVJQ&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/jessicamedinafiedler/WOYC?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ_N5KGq_87wTw&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/jessicamedinafiedler/MommyAndMe?authkey=Gv1sRgCICR0-O2kIqI4QE&feat=directlink