Life is a learning experience. Our intent at Kiddie Garden Preschool, Inc. is to provide an equal balance of preschool academics and socialization in an organized, supervised environment. Our goal is to create a positive atmosphere where children can meet other children, work together, create and expand interests and experiences during his/her preschool years.

3 Year Old Program:
Children must be 3 years of age by October 1st (NO EXCEPTIONS) and fully toilet trained before we can accept them for admission. Should a child have 3 or more accidents by October 1st, he/she will be subject to dismissal.

4 Year Old Program:
Children must be 4 years of age by October 1st (NO EXCEPTIONS) and fully toilet trained.

Before beginning any of our scheduled programs, an application, a Universal Child Health Record (enclosed), and a completed immunization record must be submitted and approved by the Director. To ensure your child's space we require a $50.00 non-refundable deposit.

Tuition payments must be put in the payment envelope provided on the first day of school. Kiddie Garden will mark your envelope paid and return it to you for the following payment. We will gladly accept a cash payment, but please retain a receipt from the office. 

Tuition is due each week, the first day your child is scheduled to attend. A payment received the following Monday is considered late and is subject to a $15.00 late fee. If your tuition falls two weeks in arrears, we reserve the right to exclude your child from attendance until the balance has been satisfied. If no payments are made for one month, we reserve the right to exclude your child permanently. Any balance that is left unpaid will be turned over to a collection bureau. There is a $20.00 charge for all checks returned for insufficient funds.

If you have two children enrolled in Kiddie Garden Preschool, we will deduct $10.00 from your combined weekly tuition.

IMPORTANT~There is no tuition adjustment for scheduled holidays, except for the winter break.

Two weeks written notice is required when a child is withdrawn from the school. If two weeks written notice is not received, there will be a tuition charge equal to two weekly tuition payments

Each enrolled child is permitted a total of three (3) vacation or sick days, tuition exempt per school year. These days cannot be used if your child is present in school. Unused days cannot be credited. Written notice is required with payment if you plan to use a vacation day. If your child is sick, Kiddie Garden will credit you the following week if you have not exceeded the maximum number of allotted days.

If your child is absent from school, please call to notify us so that we will not expect him/her.

There are NO tuition adjustments for snow days. Kiddie Garden will announce school closings via channel 6 Action News television and a recorded announcement on the school answering machine (856) 241-2878. We will also post school closings on our new website www.kiddiegardenpreschool.com

If a contagious illness occurs while your child is at the center, it is our policy to notify the parents and have the child removed from the center.

Under no circumstances should a child be sent to school with any of the following symptoms:

• pain or discomfort
• Acute diarrhea within a Severe period of 24 hours
• Two or more episodes of acute vomiting within a period of 24 hours
• Elevated oral temperature of 100 F
• Soar throat or severe coughing
• Yellow eyes or jaundiced skin
• Red eyes with discharge
• Infected, untreated skin patches
• Difficult, rapid breathing
• Skin rashes lasting more than one day
• Weeping or bleeding skin lesions that have not been treated by a physician
• Swollen joints
• Visibly enlarged lymph nodes
• Stiff neck
• Blood in urine

Once the child is symptom free, or a licensed physician indicates that the child poses no serious health risk to him/herself or to other children, the child may return to the center. The following provisions relate to excludable communicable diseases:

The center shall not permit a child or staff member with an excludable communicable disease, as specified in the table below, to be admitted to or remain at the center; until:

• A note from the child's or staff member's licensed physician states that the child or staff member, respectively, has been diagnosed and presents no risk to him/herself or to others.
• The center has contacted the Stat Department of Health's Communicable Disease Program of local healthdepartment pediatric health consultant and is told the child or staff member poses no health risk to others.

TABLE OF EXCLUDABLE COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Respiratory Illnesses	Giardia Lamblia*
Chicken Pox	Hepatitis A*
German Measles*	Salmonella*
Hemophilus Influenzae*	Shigella*
Measles*
Meningococcus*	Contact Illnesses
Mumps*	Impetigo
Strep Throat	Lice
Tuberculosis*	Scabies
Whooping Cough*
	Gastro-Intestinal Illnesses

**Reportable diseases as required by the state of New Jersey.
We hope to make Kiddie Garden Preschool Inc. a healthy place for you to send your child.

When an accident or injury requiring professional medical care occurs to a child while in the center's care, the center shall take immediate necessary action to protect the child from further harm and immediately notify the child's parent(s) verbally.

Accidents or injuries not requiring professional medical care shall be reported to the child's parent by the end of the day.

Upon request of the child's parent, the center shall provide a written description of the accident and / or injury by the end of the next operating day.

Medication and health care procedures shall be administered only after receipt of written approval from the child's parent(s). All medication must be submitted in its original container.  All prescription medication for a child shall be prescribed in the name of and specifically for the child.

We must emphasize the importance of punctuality, classes start promptly at 9:00am.

For every ten minutes you are late in picking up your child, a late charge of $20.00 will be assessed. If you find it difficult to adhere to our late policy and consistently abuse it, we reserve the right to dismiss your child from our program.

DROP OFF POLICY: Follow the proper traffic pattern when dropping off your child. Do not cut between the two buildings. Pull in line, a staff member will come to your vehicle and take your child from the car and escort them directly to their classroom. 

If you need to have your child brought out to you at the end of the day, please call us when you are on your way, so we can have your child waiting in the lobby.

Each child may be released only to the child's parent(s) or person(s) authorized by the custodial parent(s) to take the child from the center and to assume responsibility for the child in an emergency if the parent(s) cannot be reached. If someone other than a parent (even if they are authorized to do so) is picking up your child, a photocopy of their drivers license is required.

If a non-custodial parent has been denied access, or granted limited access, to a child by a court order, the center shall secure documentation to that effect, maintain a copy on file, and comply with the terms of the court order.

If the parent(s) or person(s) authorized by the parent(s) fails to pick up a child at the time of the center's closing, the center shall ensure that:

1. The child is supervised at all times;

2. Staff members attempt to contact the parent(s) or person(s) authorized by the parent(s); and
   
   
3. An hour or more after closing time, and provided that other arrangements for releasing the child to his/her parent(s) or person(s) authorized by the parent(s), have failed and the staff member(s) cannot continue to supervise the child at the center, the staff member shall call the Division's 24 hour Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-792-8610) to seek assistance in caring for the child until the parent(s) or person(s) authorized by the child's parent(s) is able to pick up the child.

If the parent(s) or person(s) authorized by the parent(s) appears to be physically and/or emotionally impaired to the extent that, in the judgment of the director and/or staff member, the child would be placed at risk of harm if released to such an individual, the center shall ensure that:

1. The child may not be released to such an impaired individual;
2. Staff members attempt to contact the child's other parent or an alternative person(s) authorized by the parent(s); and
3. If the center is unable to make alternative arrangements, a staff member shall call the Division's 24-hour Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-792-8610) to seek assistance in caring for a child.

The center requires a list of all authorized person(s) to pick up your child. We will not release your child under ANY circumstances to any unauthorized person(s).

We like to balance each class with boys and girls and different birthdays. Children with food allergies will be kept together. All of our staff is excellent! For these reasons, we will not accept ANY teacher requests.

Kiddie Garden has four scheduled parties each year:

1. Fall party
2. Winter party
3. Friendship party
4. Spring party

In September, each child will go home with a class party list. Every parent will have a turn to plan and help out for ONE party.

When it is your child's birthday, parents may submit a snack to be shared with the class during snack time. Please let your child's teacher know in advance so we can make you aware of any allergies that may be in the class.

Please DO NOT send birthday invitations to school to be distributed unless you are inviting all of the girls, all of the boys OR the entire class.

Every Monday through Friday from 12:00pm 1:00pm the children can stay for one additional hour to have lunch and play with friends. The cost is $5.00 and must be paid on the day your child stays. A refrigerator and microwave are available. Payments should be put in your payment envelope.

Please send your child to school each day with a full-sized back pack marked with his/her name. We provide folders and they will not fit in a smaller size back pack. Every child needs to bring a small snack and juice box/bag every day.  Please do not send multiple snacks. Snack is short and there is a tremendous amount of unnecessary waste.

Every child needs a change of clothes. They should be in a bag clearly marked with his/her name on the outside. Please send them on the first day of school. 

A 3x5 card must be completed and returned to your child's teacher with their name, parent's name, address, phone numbers, and any allergies listed.  These cards are kept on file and used during fire drills. In the event of a true emergency, we could not go back in the building; it is our only way of contacting parents.

Please also submit one box of tissues.

The educational program at Kiddie Garden Preschool, Inc. is executed within a flexible daily schedule. Kiddie Garden will provide a variety of planned children's activities, geared to the age and development level of the children we serve.

Our program promotes the development of language, thinking and problem solving skills, curiosity, exploration, fine and gross motor skills, socialization, self-esteem, culturalization, and positive self-identity.

Children will have the opportunity to choose materials freely, participate in a mixture of active and quiet experiences and are encouraged, but not required to participate in every group activity, and provided the time and space within the area to be apart from the group and to participate in an alternate activity if they choose to do so.

School rules are made so that the learning process can be carried out in an orderly manner. ALL children are required to comply with the following basic rules:

1. No child will cause hurt to him/herself, others, school and/or personal property.
2. The use of proper language is expected of all children.
3. Gum chewing is not permitted.
4. Each child will be expected to clean up his/her own mess.
5. Rowdiness and excessive loud, boisterous talk is not permitted.
6. Eating is allowed at designated snack time and only in the snack area.
7. No child will leave the center without adult supervision.
8. Respect him/herself and others.
9. Responsibility for his/her own actions.

 

Any deliberated disobedience and/or failure to comply with these rules will result in "time out" from the ongoing activity.  Discipline will be administered with love, concern and consistency.  It is not our wish for children to view school as a place of punishment, but a place of order in which obedience is essential and enjoyment is the result.

If your child is consistently unable to abide by our rules, the Director will prepare a written description of the problem for that child's parent(s) or guardian for review and a signature, to be returned on the following day. Any child who receives three written violations anytime during the school year will be subject to removal. We appreciate your support by discussing any problems with your child. Of course, we are always available to talk with you about your child's development.

Kiddie Garden Preschool, Inc. has an open door policy. Parents of enrolled children may visit our center at any time without having to secure prior approval from the Director or any staff member. Of course, if you'd like to schedule an appointment with the school Director of staff teacher we will be more than happy to accommodate you.