THE CENTERS
TLC is open all year long and closed on the national holidays. We understand that you have a choice and welcome the opportunity to show you the advantages of our program. We encourage you to find out about the care we provide our children, our curriculum and how we are designed to prepare your child for Kindergarten.
SAFETY
Your children’s health, well-being and safety are our first responsibility.
The center is always locked and an access code is to be entered on the front door keypad in order to have access to the premises.
Smaller children take comfort in TLC’s warm, nurturing atmosphere. TLC believes and enforces direct supervision. Our center operates under the recommended DCF teacher to children ratio to allow for better supervision of children and greater safety.
Our preschool is constantly monitored to eliminate safety hazards and improve the learning conditions. Our inspection reports from DCF can be viewed at www.myflorida.com/childcare
Only authorized parents and others, as documented in the child’s file or on the daily authorization slip, are allowed to pickup the child. Authorized individuals will be asked to present a picture ID when picking up the child.
Plans are in place for dealing with emergencies large and small. Cleanliness is evident at TLC. Even very small children must wash their hands frequently during the day, especially before eating and after playing. We are always careful to wear latex gloves when cooking, feeding or changing children. All equipment, cots, materials and toys are cleaned and sanitized more often than required.
Every employee from lead teacher to volunteers who are helping on a regular basis is investigated. The required background checks and finger printing are done expeditiously. All rooms and the playground are equipped with video monitoring cameras. These cameras are used for observation and supervision of children and staff. The TV monitor is located in the office of management. The location of our office and receptionist desk allows for direct supervision of the entrance door. Intercom is available in each room to communicate from every corner of our premises.
Fire drills are performed once and sometimes twice a month at different times of the day. Evaluation of the evacuation of the building is done and corrective actions are taken to better the process. Weather channel radio is constantly on to monitor emergency weather situations.
In case of a real natural emergency, procedures are followed to bring children to safety. In some cases, 911 will be called. If necessary, we will evacuate the building as directed by the police and the teachers will keep track of the number of children in their care. A master list of parents with associated reach telephone numbers is maintained current and will be used to contact parents. Teachers and or office management will stay with the children until the last one has been picked up by the authorized parent or other authorized persons.
A lock down or reverse 911 is when the police department calls the school to warn about an emergency situation outside the school that could threaten the safety of our children. In the event of an emergency that requires a lock down, TLC confirms the situation and authorizes the lock down procedure. All doors and windows get locked and children are gathered in the center of the building. TLC students are returned to their respective classrooms when TLC receives orders that all is now normal.
In case of power failure, we will remain in the classrooms and proceed with regular activities. If the power does not return after a short period of time and the situation starts to impact the safety of the children, the parents or other authorized persons will be contacted.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Any information shared with TLC is held in strict confidence. Information regarding the child’s health, family situation, address, telephone numbers, etc. is only used as needed within TLC, by employees directly involved with your child and on a need to know basis. No information about one particular child is shared with another child’s parents, even telephone numbers and addresses for birthday celebrations.
COMMUNICATION
Frequent communications between you and your child’s teacher is of the essence. We provide new children with a ”first day” report to indicate how your child’s day went. We make recommendations to diminish separation anxiety and give your child extra special attention to ease the separation.
We encourage daily discussions on your child’s daily activities and provide a written report when special situations arose during the day. When it is necessary daily observations of your child’s behavior are documented until we can establish a pattern and determine how to best support your child’s development.
We schedule one-on-one conferences when the teacher or the parents have some concerns about the child’s behavior and/or development. We hold an open house once a year at enrollment time and we keep an open door policy every day of the year.
We distribute a monthly newsletter to keep parents abreast of the coming events or activities. The teachers provide a daily calendar of activities (lesson plans) in the child’s folder for morning and afternoon sessions. The lesson plan describes what the children will be doing during that morning or afternoon.
Knowing what your child is doing during the day helps you reinforce and encourage the same topics and activities at home. This kind of consistency offers continuity in the learning process your child goes through. If you ask your child to tell you what she did during the day, she will tell you she did not do anything or she played. If you perused through her lesson plan and noticed that her teacher discussed spiders, you may want to mention, on your way to the car that you came across this huge spider with so many legs. She will probably interrupt you to give you the right number of legs and even ask you what color it was. You have started the communication process that will allow your child to demonstrate what she knows for a fact and also what is part of her incredible imagination.
NUTRITION
We know how well children do when they have delicious, nutritious food, and lots of gross motor activities. We provide your child with two healthy snacks and a nutritious hot meal for lunch each day at no additional cost
Our menus are planned to meet children’s daily nutritional requirements while providing food that children love. Please discuss any food allergies, religious or special dietary needs requiring food be brought from home at the time you register your child. Also, talk with our office management about special occasions (holidays, birthdays, etc.) if you want to bring special treats.
The menu will be given to you during the tour of the premises.
