Ann Lacy, School Director
502-456-6991
Mission
Since 1949 the Weekday School of Highland Presbyterian Church has provided exceptional preschool education for the Louisville community. The School was established as an outreach of the church's Christian Education program to offer young children the opportunity to grow as thinking children who discover the world around them with creativity and curiosity; to develop capable children who work with other children and adults to solve problems together; to nurture caring children who learn to share themselves and their things with others; to celebrate contented children who enjoy learning; and to encourage loving children who are being loved, respected, and challenged in a safe and secure environment where they have fun. By providing this atmosphere and these experiences, our school enables children to become people who respect others, value diversity, and who will be active, contributing members of their communities.
Highland Presbyterian Weekday School is licensed by the State of Kentucky as a Type I child care facility.
Developmental Approach
Research shows that young children need a variety of stimulating experiences in order to enhance their growth and development. Our developmental approach to early childhood means that we welcome each child as he or she comes to us and we pay attention to, and enhance his or her physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and moral growth.
We provide a child-centered environment with rich and varied activities. It is important when planning for both the group and the individual child that we learn who they are and what interests them. We do this by listening to the children as they play, observing them, designing experiences according to their needs and interests, and documenting their work. This gives value to the children's thinking and enhances their learning.
Curriculum
We aim to provide a curriculum that is child-centered and based upon the development of and unique aspects of each class grouping. We introduce children to concepts that are both familiar to them and to some that are new as well. When children show a particular enthusiasm about a certain topic we know that it's important to explore and extend that concept further. Every year is different; every classroom is different!
The framework we use integrates experiences in the following areas:
- Language Arts:
reading and listening to stories and poems, talking and writing about our daily experiences individually and in groups, experiences in many ways, letters, sounds, words, numbers, etc. - Math:
counting, matching, sorting, sequencing, patterning, estimating, adding and subtracting, recognizing numerals, etc. - Science:
observing, predicting, and comparing size, problem solving, classifying, studying nature - Social Studies:
exploring our home and school communities and the world around us - Music:
singing, dancing, moving our bodies, playing instruments, listening to sounds, creating new tunes and rhythms - Art:
painting, drawing sculpting, representing our world in a variety of media and imagining and making new creations
We believe that when children are engaging in these experiences, it is vital for them to have TIME to make choices, solve problems, interact with and respect others, and learn together with the adults around them in an unhurried, peaceful environment. Through this collaboration, children and adults learn from and with each other.
We balance times children make choices independently with times that they must learn to do what the group does. We also hope to connect in meaningful ways with the neighborhood and local community. All of these aspects of the children's experiences are important in helping them feel good about themselves and with those around them. We encourage them to be enthusiastic, excited learners. Our reward is hearing these words: "I can do it!" "We did it together!"
Regular Classes and Tuition for 2012-2013:
We use the date of October 1 (in accordance with the KY Dept. of Education in determining a child’s placement in one of the following groups listed below. All of our Preschool classes and our Kindergarten class begin at 8:45 a.m. and dismiss at 11:45 a.m. Child/teacher ratios are noted after each class.
2-year-olds (11 children with 2 teachers)
2 days/wk – M & W: $2,780.00; 2 days/wk – T & Th: $2,780.00
3-year-olds (15 children with 2 teachers)
3 days/wk – M, W, F: $3,140.00; 3 days/wk – T, Th, F: $3,140.00
3 & 4-year-olds (16 children with 2 teachers)
5 days/wk – M-F: $4,320.00
4-year-olds (18 children with 2 teachers)
4 days/wk – M-Th: $3,500 5 days/wk – M-F: $4,150.00
Kindergarten (18 children with 2 teachers)
5 days/wk – M-F: $4,990.00
Optional programs:
Early morning care
8:00-8:45 am
If registered a month in advance: $3.50/day/child
For drop-in: $4.00/day/child
Extended session
If registered a month in advance: $15.00/day for first child; $9.00 for same day for each additional sibling. Credit give only if child is absent and if registration is canceled before 8:30 a.m. of the day child is to stay.
Parents reserve space in these optional programs on a monthly basis and pay for the days they reserve each month. If space is available, we may add children daily if needed. We do not have any provisions for services before 8:00 a.m. and after 3:00 p.m. Space may also be reserved on a semester-basis by requesting forms in the school office.
Faculty & Professional Development
Twenty-one qualified and experienced educators comprise our faculty. In addition to classroom teachers the children have the advantage of working with a Music Enrichment Teacher, Preschool and Kindergarten Art Specialists, an Early Interventionist, a Speech-Language Pathologist, Classroom Facilitator, an Office Manager and the Director of the school. At least half of our teachers and staff have been at the School for more than ten years.
Each year the faculty participates in a wide variety of professional development experiences, exceeding the requirement for state licensure. This year we will co-hosted a Professional Development Institute called "Reflecting Children's Lives...Transforming our Programs." The Institute features noted authors Margie Carter and Deb Curtis. Educators will explore ways that we can create rich experiences and build deeper relationships with young children.
Admissions
Families interested in the Weekday School are encouraged to call the school and request an application. Applications are available to the general community on August 15 each year. Prospective families are strongly encouraged to visit the school to see for themselves the program. We offer tours beginning in October on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings at 9:15 a.m. by appointment.
Members of Highland Presbyterian Church and currently enrolled families are given preferential enrollment if they apply by January 15. Applications from the community are collected in a waiting file between Aug.-Jan. 15 and are placed in classes, as spaces are available. In order to offer the best grouping of children, we attempt to balance our class groupings with respect to gender, age, diversity and other special circumstances that may arise.
Parent Involvement
Parents are vital to the life and experience of Highland Presbyterian Weekday School! We welcome all parents to become a part of the "Hi Ho Experience" and there are many ways to do that. Some might stay and read to a group of children, others repair toys and equipment, help troubleshoot a computer problem, spruce up the playground, organize the library, and on and on. Parents can become involved by volunteering for an ongoing committee or board position or simply can occasionally cut out paper shapes for art experiences. We are continually developing and encouraging ways that parents can become actively involved in our program. At the same time, we respect that we live in a busy culture and that many parents have limited time to offer.
Parent Conferences are scheduled in fall and spring with an additional week set aside in January for optional conferences. This gives us time dedicated to meet with parents and discuss each child and to plan together for the best course of education for that child. We also visit each child in his/her home before the school year begins to ease the transition to school.
We want families who choose the Weekday School to feel welcome and become a part of our family. When we are true partners, we can be the most effective team.
School Calendar
Generally we operate on a school-type calendar. Kindergarten begins in August and Preschool begins the Tuesday after Labor Day each year. We usually end the year before Memorial Day. We're closed 2 weeks for the Christmas Holidays, 1 week for Spring Break and various other days throughout the year for in-service, parent conferences, etc. We publish a calendar with specific dates in our school directory.