PARENT HANDBOOK AND ADMISSION AGREEMENT

Parent Handbook and Admission Agreement (Word Doc)

NOTE: Please print out the above Microsoft Word Document. Sign and return the “Admission Agreement” page to the school to complete enrollment.

PROGRAMS PURPOSE, GOALS AND PHILOSOPHIES

Bennett Valley Montessori School follows the philosophies of Dr. Maria Montessori. She believed in a self-motivated style of learning environment. The child chooses the activity he will perform, as he is naturally curious and the Montessori materials and environment help cultivate his own natural desire to learn. Dr. Montessori calls the child a sponge, who effortlessly absorbs everything around him.

The goal of the Montessori technique is to create a self-motivated individual who can adapt to his time, space and group and fulfill his potential. Allowing the child to have the choice for the materials spurs this motivation. As the child successfully completes a task, the more confidence and security he gains to go on to a more difficult activity or area in the classroom.

Bennett Valley Montessori School is a privately owned and operated, non-denominational school that will accept students regardless of color, creed, religion, race or national origin. Admissions are based on availability and siblings will be given priority. A day will be set up for your child to visit the school and meet the teachers to see if this is the proper environment for your child before acceptance will be granted.

 

SCHOOL YEAR

 

The school operates from September to mid-June and is open from 8:00 am. to 4:00 pm. Monday through Friday. Summer school sign up will be offered in the spring before a summer schedule will be made based on need and enrollment.

Academic hours are from 9:00 am. to 3:00 pm. Students can attend on full or part time schedules for the full academic day or half-days until 1:00 pm.

Daycare is provided from 8:00 am. to 9:00 am. and again from 3:00 pm. to 4:00 pm.

The schedule and daycare activities vary from day to day but will include both indoor and outdoor time as appropriate.

 

SNACK AND LUNCH

Snack is given both in the morning between the hours of 9:00 am. and 11:00 am. as a free choice activity and then again at 2:30 pm. and 3:00 pm. as a group activity. The snack consists of a combination of fruit and/or vegetables. A rotating sign-up schedule will be set up for the parents to bring in snack for their child’s classroom.

Parents provide the lunch, lunch container, and a cloth napkin or something similar to use as a placemat. The meal should consist of something similar to a sandwich, fruit, yogurt, crackers and beverage of juice, water or plain milk. Please do not provide any sugar snacks or sodas, including cookies. Also, we are unable to heat up any food or refrigerate lunches.

 

SCHOOL PROGRAM

Children are accepted between the ages of 2 years and 6 years. The child does not need to be potty trained if they are under the age of 2 years and 9 months. If the child is not potty trained the parent must provide a supply of disposable diapers and disposable baby wipes. Staff will aid in potty training along with the parents participation at home.

On occasion, Bennett Valley Montessori School accepts up to 12 school-age children between the ages of 7 to 17 years old. These children are usually older siblings, alumni, staff children, or children from the surrounding neighborhood requiring care. These children would not increase our total capacity of 60 children and would meet the preschool standards for staff qualifications and ratios. When school-age children are present, they are required to use the bathroom in the snack room area that has the privacy partition stall. Also, these children would not participate in any kind of activity that may be potentially dangerous to the younger children, especially in regards to rigorous outside games and activities.

Classes meet five days a week for full or half-day sessions. The morning session is free choice work and includes group circles. The afternoon session includes naptime and more advanced group work with non-nappers. If your child naps please provide the bedding as directed by the school. The bedding will be sent home on a regular basis for cleaning. Also, your child is required to have indoor shoes or slippers with rubber soles that will remain at the school.

There will be at least 1 field trip scheduled per year and possibly more depending on the season and curriculum. Notification will be sent home regarding any planned field trips. Written permission and a Consent for Medical Treatment form, for each child, will be requested along with any fees for the field trip. If the field trip requires you to pack a lunch a “paper bag” lunch is required where everything can be disposed of. The parent or guardian is responsible for dropping off and picking up your child. Staff members will not be permitted to transport children in vehicles. We will ask for parent volunteers if we require help with transportation for field trips only if public transportation is not available.

 

ENROLLMENT

 Arrange for an appointment to visit the school. Observe your child’s future classroom and meet the teachers. Staff can change from what you may observe on your first visit. The school will provide notice to parents as soon as possible if changes occur.

Submit a completed application form and the non-refundable application fee. Once the application is received and a place is available for your child at the school, you will receive an acceptance letter and a non-refundable deposit will be required to secure placement. This non-refundable deposit, equivalent to one month’s tuition installment, will be forfeited, if you decide not to enroll your child, for any reason. The deposit will be applied to the last month of school attendance, plus or minus any balance, for the school year in which the child is enrolled. The school will contact you to arrange a day to bring your child in and see the school. This will also give us a chance to observe and interact with your child to try and ensure that this is the proper environment for your child.

Upon admission you will receive the acceptance packet, various medical and personal forms required by the State Licensing Department, and the admission agreement. These forms must be completed, signed, dated, and submitted before the child’s first day of attendance.

 

TUITION PAYMENTS

Tuition may be paid in full at the beginning of the school year, or it may be paid in ten monthly installments. Each installment represents 1/10 of the total school year’s tuition, regardless of the number of school days in that month.

The school’s costs remain constant whether or not your child is in attendance. It is impossible therefore for the school to provide any reduction in tuition due to illness, vacation, or general absenteeism. The school is also unable to trade days for absenteeism if your child is on a part-time schedule and misses their scheduled day(s), whether due to illness or vacation.

Tuition installments are due monthly unless the whole school year is paid in advance. Monthly tuition installments are due five days before the coming month and are considered late after the second day of the month the installment is due, unless the first falls on a holiday. An example of the due date for the October tuition installment is as follows:

October tuition is due September 25 – October 1. Tuition installments received after

October 1 may be charged a late penalty of $15.

There will be a $20 service charge for returned checks. There will be a late pickup fee of $1 per minute after 4:00 p.m., which is to be paid directly to the employee closing the school. If the amount is not paid, it will be billed on the next month’s tuition installment.

Bennett Valley Montessori School reserves the right to change tuition prices with two months notice.

 

SCHOOL CALENDAR

The Bennett Valley Montessori School calendar follows a traditional calendar for closures and holidays. The school year starts the Tuesday after Labor Day in September and we go until early to mid-June. Spring break is the Friday before Easter and the week after Easter. We close Veterans Day, Thanksgiving week, 10 – 12 days between December and January, Presidents’ Day, and Memorial Day. We also offer an optional summer program.

 

THE SCHOOL DAY

The school day begins at 9:00 a.m., please be on time. You may arrive between 8:45 am. and 9:00 am. for a 9:00 am. start. The morning is valuable working and learning time for your child, and consistency and timeliness are necessary to make his/her experience optimal.

The half-day program ends at 1:00 pm. and the full-day program ends at 3:00 pm. Parents are expected to pick up their children at those times. If you have an emergency that makes it impossible to pick up your child at that time, please call the school immediately. Arriving more than fifteen minutes late for pick up will result in an hourly late charge.

If your child is late or absent, please notify the school by telephone.

 

WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURES

To withdraw your child, a 60-day written notice of intent to withdraw is required. Failure to provide 60 days written notice will result in the forfeiture of the prepaid final month’s tuition payment. Withdraws received on or after March 15th for the remainder of the current school year will result in full payment of the balance of the school year tuition through June of that current year. Remember, tuition is based on a full school year and is broken into monthly installments as a convenience.

 

SCHEDULE CHANGES

Schedule changes require a 60-day written notice and are subject to availability. Schedule changes will not be accepted after February 1st of the current school year for the remainder of the current school year.

 

REASONS FOR TERMINATION

Repeated failure to pay tuition installments and or fees can result in the termination of the Admission Agreement and your child can be permanently dismissed from the school. A child can also be permanently dismissed from the school and the Admission Agreement can be terminated because of child’s continued unwanted behavior and the child’s inability to respond to discipline policy procedures.

If the child is not permitted to return to school and the Parent Admission Agreement is terminated, the tuition deposit, not to exceed 30 days worth of tuition, will not be refunded.

 

DISCIPLINE POLICY

There is not any corporal or unusual punishment or any violation of personal rights.

Discipline is carried out as follows:

  1. The child is asked to stop the unwanted behavior. The teacher may talk to the child and ask why the child was behaving in this manner. If behavior affects another child, the aggressor is asked to apologize and hug the affected child.
  1. If the behavior continues, the child is placed in the environment in a designated chair or place. The term “time out” is not used when speaking to the Child. The amount of time spent in the designated chair or place is dependent upon the situation
  1. If the child is repeatedly being disciplined and the behavior continues, then the child is removed from the environment into an adjacent room until, in the teacher’s opinion, the child is ready to return to the classroom. A staff member will accompany the child.
  1. If the unwanted behavior still persists then the parent is notified immediately and a parent/teacher conference is set up.

 

If all of the above steps fail then the child may be dismissed from the school on a trial basis or permanently. If the child is not permitted to return to school and the Parent Admission Agreement is terminated, the tuition deposit, not to exceed 30 days worth of tuition, will not be refunded.

 

SIGN-IN AND SIGN-OUT PROCEDURES

A sign-in and sign-out sheet with a list of students’ names is placed near the door where parents must sign their full names and enter the times that their children arrive and depart, to and from the school. This procedure is REQUIRED BY LAW to insure the security of each child. If a person other than a parent is to pick up your child, the school must be notified in writing in advance.

 

ABSENCES AND ILLNESS

Contact the school if your child will be absent from class and give the reason for the absence. If your child has contracted a communicable disease, please contact the school immediately. Please do not send your child to school on days when they are experiencing any of the following symptoms: fever, rash, diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat, thick running nose and/or eye discharge. Children must be clear of these symptoms for at least 24 hours prior to returning to school. Children who arrive at the school ill cannot be accepted into the classroom.

If a child becomes ill at school, he or she will be isolated from the rest of the children, the parent will be contacted and expected to come for the child. If you cannot be reached, the school will contact the other adults listed on the Emergency Identification form, to pick up the sick child.

The school cannot assume responsibility for giving over-the-counter medication. Prescription medication may be left with the staff with written instructions from either the doctor or parent and only if the following conditions are met:

  1. Medication must be prescribed by an authorized medical professional and brought in the prescription bottle by the parent.
  2. Parents must sign and date a letter requesting staff to dispense medication.

The letter must specify:

* Name of the child

* Name of the medication

* Dosage/amount to be given

* Dates and times to be given

* Storage procedures – room temperature or refrigerated

We will make every effort to dispense medication at the proper time. However, we cannot guarantee it.

Immunization records and a Physician’s Report of a physical examination and TB test are required for enrollment. All children must be up-to-date and have completed all immunizations required for their age in order to be enrolled in a Child Care Center in California.

 

POLICIES RELATED TO INCIDENTAL MEDICAL SERVICES (IMS)

Bennett Valley Montessori will accept children with Incidental Medical Services (IMS). These services may include but are not limited to: blood-glucose monitoring, administering inhaled medications, administering EpiPen Jr. and EpiPen or other epinephrine auto-injectors, and administering anti-seizure medications. Parents will inform staff of any of the above IMS needed before enrollment. Additional paper work and information will be provided at that time.

 

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

In case of a serious medical/dental emergency, staff members are instructed to call 911 for immediate emergency services. Parents will then be notified at the earliest possible opportunity.

In case of a major earthquake, the staff will stay with the children until an authorized adult can pick them up. First aid supplies are stored in the classrooms along with earthquake kits for each child, paid for by the parent, at a cost of around $15.00 per kit. The staff will remain with the children in or on the grounds of the facilities unless directed elsewhere by civil defense authorities. In this occurrence, notification of our new location will be posted in strategic areas of the school grounds.

 

RIGHTS OF LICENSING AGENCY

The licensing agency has the right to perform the duties authorized as stated below.  (CCR, Title 22, Section 101200)

The Department or Licensing Agency shall have the authority to interview children, or staff, and to inspect and audit child or facility records without prior consent. The licensee shall make provisions for private interviews with any children or staff member; and for the examination of all records relating to the operation of the child care center. The Department has the authority to observe the physical condition of the children, including conditions that could indicate abuse, neglect, or inappropriate placement.

PARENT HANDBOOK AND ADMISSION AGREEMENT

I, the undersigned parent or guardian of __________________________________ (child’s name) herby acknowledge having read and understood the Bennett Valley Montessori School Parent Handbook and Admission Agreement for the year/years that my child is in attendance and agree to abide by the policies described in this handbook.

 

Parent One or Guardian’s Signature: ____________________________________________________

Date: ____________________

 

Parent Two or Guardian’s Signature: ______________________________________________________

Date: ____________________

 

Director’s or Administrator’s Signature: __________________________________________________

Date: ____________________