What are your summer hours?
- For the summer of 2009, the school will be open Monday-Thursday from 8:30 am till 2:30 pm.
What is a typical class size in your Pre-First program?
- Our Pre-First-Three and Pre-First Four classes are capped at 15.
- Our Kindergarten classes are capped at 18.
Do all Pre-First classrooms have a teaching assistant?
- All classes Pre-First Three - Kindergarten have a full time teaching assistant when enrollment reaches 13 students.
Do children in the Pre-First program interact with the older students?
- Yes. Though our Pre-First classes are in separate buildings from the older students, they attend assemblies, pep rallies, plays, and music programs with the older students. Our Upper School Exploring Education Program allows high school students who are interested in teaching as a profession to work with the Pre-First students on a daily basis, and the Pre-First classes receive weekly visits from 12th Graders through our Senior Mentoring Program.
Do Pre-First students have to sleep during rest time?
- Students are required to rest and engage in a quiet activity if they do not take a nap. We often find children who do not take naps at home to be ready for a nap after a busy morning in the classroom setting.
If I feel my child is academically advanced, it is possible to “skip” a grade in the Pre-First program?
- Skipping a grade in the Pre-First years is highly discouraged. Social and emotional development is a large part of the Pre-First curriculum and children of the same age need interaction to develop those critical social and emotional skills. Rather than rush children through these formative years, we strive to challenge those who are ready to move beyond the standard curriculum.
Could my child be retained in their current level of the Pre-First program?
- Children do not develop socially, academically, and emotionally at the same rate. There are instances where a child may not be ready to progress to the next level by the end of the school year. Should this be a case, the teacher, parents, and administration work together to determine if retention in the same grade level would be beneficial for that child.
