Parent Hand Book

(Download Parent Handbook above for Fee Information)

 

This school is for children "where excellence is the norm". Parents and children, who are not very serious about education, may not be suitable for our program. We reserve the right to refuse admittance to those children with disruptive behavior, hindering the advancement of others. After admittance, if we find their behavior is disruptive to the aspirations and progress of other children, we require them to find another facility.

 

Our efforts with the children, teacher and the families are to build moral character and develop social skills, while advancing in education taking into consideration our ethnic diversity. We need your cooperation at all levels keeping in mind that today’s child IS ALREADY a leader in development to serve our society.

 

Non-Discrimination, practices & Conviction:

We follow the policy of non-discrimination, admitting children of all ethnicities. We strongly follow and actively promote a non-bias policy that is incorporated into the child’s curriculum. Through our educational curriculum and daily practices we offer an interactive learning environment for your child to build relationships, love Jesus and join in our vision. While we believe that parents are the primary nurturers and teachers of their child’s spiritual development, we take our responsibility to heart in partnering with families on a journey of teaching children how to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. It will also be a fun-filled journey for your child!

 

Ages Served

Children’s Academy of Success prides itself in providing academic programs by qualified teachers to children ages 2 years old to 6 years old, five days a week from Monday to Friday.

The students who start participating on the pre-school program MUST be potty trained to be able to participate in our advanced programs starting on that grade.

 

Enrollment Procedure

1st After the initial inspection of our school, and when the parents or guardians are satisfied that our program would meet their needs, we may schedule a conference with the parents/ guardians and the child at our school.

 

2nd The parent or the guardian makes a non-refundable payment of $150.00 which will go towards the registration or enrollment fees. At this time, all documentation needed for admission are given to the parent or guardian. This documentation should be given in advance to the school A MONTH before the Fiscal year starts. If you do not have the appropriate documentation in file, there is a possibility that you will forfeit your child’s space.

 

3rd After the parents/guardians complete and give back to school all documentation needed for enrollment: immunization records, emergency contact persons and telephone numbers, payment of the fees, signing of the agreement, then the child may enter our facility.

 

4th Pre-entry evaluation may be required. Children coming from other educational facilities or 4 years and older MUST sit for this examination.

 

5th After a pre-entry evaluation, we will have a second conference to report to the parents/guardians the progress made by the child within a period of six months, if it is necessary to do so.

 

6th We must have the identifications of the parents/guardians in our files prior to admittance of the child. Please bring with the documentation, the original Birth Certificate of the future student, to do so, it will be returned as it is checked the same day.

 

7th  A docket containing the following forms for completion and some for retention are given to the parents/guardians: Application Forms and Agreement, Parent’s handbook, Schedule of Daily Activities, LIC’s 700, 701, 702, 627, 995, 613A, Photograph Consent Form and any other important document and the Receipt of the docket form.

 

Late Payments

All our services to children are pre-paid. There is no grace period. All payments are due on or before the first day of the month or the designated due date. If the first day of the month falls on a weekend or school holiday, then tuition is due on the next school day.  A late payment of $5 per day will be imposed for maximum of 5 days, thereafter if tuition remains unpaid your child will not be allowed to attend school until tuition is current.

 

Parents who qualify for participation in any state subsidized programs must obtain prior approval from such agencies before we can enroll the child in our program. We can direct you to the agencies that provide these services to families.

 

Refunds are not given for illness or extended absence due to family or school holidays or vacations.   A 30 day written notice is required prior to the withdrawal of any student from the school; this notice, however, does not grant a refund of any kind.  If a child is absent for 5 consecutive days and tuition has not been paid, the child’s space will be filled from our waiting list.  Re-admittance will require a new application and application fee, provided there is space available.  If a 30 day notice is not provided, you will be liable for the current month’s full tuition.

 

Enrollment & Other Fees

A non-refundable $150.00 needs to be paid to receive the application documents. This fee does not include the costs for the school supply or text books at each academic level and neither the uniform costs for the Academic Program. However we facilitate the process to acquire these important things during the enrollment process.

 

MORNING ARRIVAL

Our hours of operation are from 7:00am to 5:00pm, five days of the week, Monday through Friday. Your child/children should arrive school between 8:00a.m- 8:30am.  Parents need to sign their child/ren) "in and out" daily, with their full signature and time of arrival.  It is very important for parents to say goodbye quietly at the classroom door. 

 

Afternoon Pickup, Late Pick-up & Early Drop Offs

All children must be picked-up before the agreed designated time/hour. Late pick up charges are incurred when a child is not picked-up by the mutually agreed time as documented in the enrollment agreement. Any child NOT picked-up on time will incur in a charge of $1.00 per minutes late. Any child left for 30 minutes or more after closing time will be handed over to the Child Care Authorities/ Downey police Department.

 

We will place a notification on the entrance door giving the telephone number of the authorities to contact. It is agreed by both parties that the accuracy of the time is taken from the clock in our facility. The late pick-up charges cannot be included with any other payments, and must be paid immediately. There are no exceptions to this rule.

 

Any delays caused by any long conversation with any staff member, may incur additional charges too. We may have to request a child to be taken off our enrollment, in the event a child is habitually dropped off after our educational program has begun at 8:30am. A late arrival disrupts the operation of our program and takes the concentration from teachers and children engrossed in their activities.

 

Schedule of Activities (half day program)

Our educational Program begins at 8:30am with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of United States of America followed by circle time devoted to group lessons. Then we have designated activities for the children until 11:30am or 11:55am with a half hour of recess (outside activities, weather permitting); we will have the lunch hour from 12m to 12:30pm for children to have a time of fellowship and enjoy lunch. After one hour of free activity the children are encouraged to have a nap time of one hour or more, but not exceed one and a half hours. Some children may need a nap time while others will resist taking one; we encourage those children to have a quiet time resting their bodies. We will follow the parent’s directions and desires in this nap time and rest.

 

Schedule of Activities (full day program)

After the nap/rest time; children will have a nutritional snack. Then, they will complete their work assignments under the supervision of a teacher. Introductions to new lessons in other subjects that are not included in the half day program will be included in this portion of the day. This program is from 3:00pm- 5:00pm. We change our schedule of activities according to the weather conditions and seasons of the year. In summer, the outdoor activities are in the early part of the morning, while in winter it will be close to the noon hour. We will not take children for outside activities when the smog levels have reached unhealthy conditions. We will post and provide the parents with a schedule of daily activities on a month to month basis as needed.

 

School Program

Our academic year begins in September and ends in June, and follows the Downey Unified School District calendar, including legal and extended holidays. After the Academic Program, starts the Summer Program during the months of July and August. Please refer to Academic  and Summer Calendar for more details.

 

Field Trips

Field tips can be planned with the cooperation of the parents/guardians. For a safe field trip, we must have adult to child ratio of 1:6 or 1:4, depending on the location and the destination. The Administrator is the only person who can authorize the planning of a safe location for our children in a field trip as a school.

 

Emergency Medical and Dental Services

In the event of a serious accident we will contact the Emergency Medical Services seeking their assistance and at the same time make every attempt to contact you or the designated friend or relative. We are not able to provide medical/dental services for sick/ill children, as we do not have medical personnel at our facility.

 

Cares and Concerns

Entry and discharge times are the most susceptible times for accidents to happen; as such conversation with the teaching staff is not acceptable. Continuation of this behavior is a cause for termination. All concerns and progress is officiated from the administrator or by the assistant. Please refrain from discussions in the open classroom, refer them in private in the office. No discussions in the open classroom please do so in the office, but in private.

 

Discipline Procedures

Discipline is one of the key elements of our philosophy. Our desire is to cultivate in the child clear consistent and appropriate limits of conduct and behavior. This is provided by setting limits and boundaries in a clear and concise manner acknowledging the child is in the process of maturity.

 

The following behaviors will not be tolerated:

1. Attempts to hurt self or others;

2. Disrespect of other students, teachers, or staff;

3. Disrespect or destruction of property or the environment;

4. Inappropriate vulgar gestures and language. 

 

If a child displays any disruptive behavior the following actions will be taken:

 

1. We will separate the child from the group, allowing them time to understand their

     actions and to determine how to rectify their behavior.  We will encourage the

     child to return to the activity as quickly as possible.

2. If the behavior continues the parent will be notified in order to schedule a

    conference with the parent and child to discuss possible solutions for the

    inappropriate behavior. 

3. If after the conference there is no improvement and the inappropriate behavior

    continues, the child may be suspended for one to three days, depending upon the

    seriousness of the incident. 

 

We reserve the right to ask the parent to remove their child from our facility without a refund for tuition already paid. 

 

We closely monitor the language the children use in our environment. Any Inappropriate use of foul language is not tolerated and the child who uses such language will be given time-out in the office away from the classroom for a minimum of time.

 

Initially, the Principal/Administrator will have a conference with the child explaining the inappropriateness of the language used. It is our experience that children must begin to realize consequences of their action and then terminate the wrong behavior immediately, however, if it continues, we will have a conference with both parents and the child in the office to find a remedial method incorporating parental assistance so that we work together as a team. However we reserve the right to implement rule (2) and (3) above to safeguard the welfare of the other children in our care.

 

What parents and adults do in moderation: the children will apply in excused excess with no limitations. Please do not use inappropriate language in the presence of your children and let your relatives know your standards implemented for your children.

 

It is normal for a child to associate the school with the home and sometimes they tend to take items from the school to the home, for this reason. It is not an act to robbery. We treat it in that perspective. Most of our scientifically designed equipment contains very small parts, and without that little piece, that item becomes non-functional. If you find an item that does not belong to your child, we expect the parents to bring that item to our facility. Sometimes we may make a search for missing item and we may have to look in their back- pack and pockets. We will not violate the dignity and respect of your child; it will be conducted in a professional manner, not to cause an embarrassment, to your child.

 

We will not use any corporal punishment, nor humiliate the child to lose self-respect and self-esteem. We believe such action will only defeat the purpose of education.

 

Our goals and desires are to work with the parents/guardians in formulating a plan of action to assist the child in reaching their highest potential. Behavior patterns that are not appropriate will be a hindrance. Cooperation between the school and the parents will bring on the desired results enabling the child to mature and become a productive citizen.

In addition, we will provide you with the State mandated rules and regulations which explains both parents and children’s rights in an environment such as ours.

 

Photographs and Videos

We periodically take photographs or videos of the children engaged in their activities for our records or web page links and not for any private circulation and distribution, but for use in our web page, marketing or other products to be publish with educational purposes. If you desire that we do not use photographs or videos of your child/children please indicate in writing.

 

Procedures for Sign In and Sign Out

The parent/guardian must sign in and out the child in a daily basis, and the administrator/teacher has to make a physical observation of that child before entering the classroom. No child with a temperature will be admitted into the program. It is the responsibility of the parent to escort the child into the classroom, and sign the "Attendance Register" logging the arrival time.

 

We follow the "Sign In" log as the authentic record of the child's presence in our facility. In emergency situations, we have a very limited time for detail verifications of a child presence. By not signing the child "In", exposes the child to dangerous situations. It is imperative that the parent/guardian follow the procedure of signing in/out daily.

 

Release of Children

Children are released only to those who are authorized to pick-up. Those authorizations must be in our records. We reserve the right to question and demand identification from any person who enters the facility coming to pick up a child. Failure to produce photo identification will result in our refusal to release the child. No minor sibling is allowed to pick up a child at any time.

 

In all custody matters, each parent has a duty to notify and provide the school director with a copy of any court order that may impact who can pick up or drop off the child, we must have a copy of that documentation in our files. Parents/Guardians are required to inform the Administrator/ Principal, of any ongoing disputes, custody battles, and a description of any person or persons of suspicious nature that may have an interest in a child. For all purposes, the parent or the parents who signed the application for admittance of the child are the only persons who may give us any directions. Letters from attorneys are not accepted, only documents with the court's seal/signature are accepted. Parent/ Guardian must physically hand over the child to the Administrator on duty, no drop offs in the parking lot.

 

Parking

Parking for drop-off and pick-up of children must be from our parking lot. For the safety of our children this procedure must without deviation.

 

Dress Code

As stipulated during the enrollment process, your child must be dressed according to our uniform code. Please do not try to match our uniform code with purchases from different suppliers of clothing. Please use our supplier at all times. There are no variations and no exceptions.

 

A change of clothes must be available at school for your child and they must be clearly marked with the first name and the last initial. We will make every effort to keep them in a safe location; however we cannot be held responsible for any damaged, stained or lost items.

 

Meals and snacks

Two nutritious snacks are provided at no charge, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each child must bring a sack lunch from home.  A microwave and refrigerator are available if needed.  If a child has any known food allergies, please alert the child’s teacher.

 

Napping

All children in the full day program are encouraged to take a daily nap. Those children who regularly take afternoon naps are required to have at the facility a crib sheet and a blanket.  Please take sheets and blankets home on Friday to launder and return on Monday for nap time.  Please make sure the child’s name is on all material.

 

Illness and Accidents

As a reminder, children who are ill are to be cared for at home. In the event a child falls sick in our facility, that child will be isolated from other children and the parents will be contacted to pick-up that child. Parents must make immediate arrangements to remove that child from our facility. Please DO NOT bring your sick child to our facility and expect us to keep your child isolated till you return from work. If your child falls sick while at our facility, we will call you and welfare of the other children in our facility. We can administer prescription medication to a child only with the physician's written directions. Additionally, these conditions apply: administering the prescription medication is a service we provide outside of the staff's teaching responsibilities. We do not have a licensed vocational nurse to dispense your child's medication as required in the health care facilities.

 

For these reasons, we cannot be held responsible for any medication not given on time or not given at all. As a precaution, we encourage you to give us a reminder by calling us a few minutes before the medication is due and few minutes after for verification.

 

1) Medication must be in the original container

2) Containers must bear the pharmacy label with child's name, usage, time to  

                     administer, physician's name and the phone number and method of

                     storage.

3) We have signed release from the parent in our files.

4) Only one member of our staff is delegated with that authority and the

                     Physician must instruct that delegated staff member.

 

In the event of an accident, every attempt will be made to contact the parent before any outside serviced called. As the child's safety is of paramount importance, we will take actions that are necessary for that purpose. We must have your signed approval in our files to provide those agencies prior receiving treatment.

 

Parents are required to inform the Teacher/Administrator if a child has contacted any communicable disease. If and when a member of our staff notices a skin rash, eye infection, lice or any other disease that may be contagious, we require a report from a physician for re-admission.

 

If your child is sick, please telephone the school each day before our program begins at 8:30am. Any child absent for three or more days will require a medical certificate from a physician certifying the child's ability to return to school.

 

Please do not send your child to school with a runny nose or any display of sickness (fever, excessive coughing, stomach aches, unknown rashes, etc.). The health and safety of all the children is our primary concern.

 

Emergency Situations

In the event of a medical emergency, your child will be taken to the following local hospital. Please note that Downey Medical Center is the first choice for an emergency:

 

Downey Medical Center

11805 Paramount Blvd

Downey, CA 90242

562-869-1686

 

We maintain a liability and accident insurance policy for our facility. This is a secondary policy. Your child needs accident insurance coverage under your policy. Our policy is to obtain treatment and bill any expense through your insurance carrier.

 

Emergency Preparedness

Parents are required to provide an Earthquake Emergency Kit readily available in case of an emergency. This kit must be available at our facility for any emergency. Each student’s kit should be packed in a one gallon plastic bag, labeled inside and out with the child’s name.  We will store it in a secure place to retrieve it quickly.

 

Evacuation/ Disaster Plans

In the event of a localized emergency situation, we will evacuate the child to the north-west corner of the parking lot protected by brick walls and shade. We have access and permission to occupy the immediate and adjacent properties 10835 & 10837 La Reina Ave., if we need any further assistance to keep the children safe with water and food.  In the event of a major disaster, we will follow the advice of the local emergency authorities.  Our emergency evacuation designated location is Rio Hondo Elementary School, 7731 E. Mullar Ave., Downey, CA 90241. We will have a volunteer group of parents organized for transportation of our children to this location. Please drive by the site to familiarize yourself with the location.

 

Child Abuse

We are mandated, by Federal regulations, and the State of California Penal Code to report any suspected child abuse within 32 hours. Our staff is instructed to report any such incident to the Principal/Administrator and to the Child Abuse hot line for further action.

 

Tobacco Free Facility

Smoking and use of any tobacco products are prohibited on all school property and in vehicles while on school property at all times. This prohibition applies to all associates, parents, and visitors.

 

Parent's Children's Right Visits

 

Parents are welcome to come and observe our classrooms.  Please contact our office to make an appointment for classroom observation. 

 

Please follow these guidelines as follow, to ensure a wonderful experience for all:

 

• Please wait at least 6 weeks into the school year before you make an appointment 

to observe any classroom.  The children need time to settle into their routine and   begin to feel comfortable in the classroom.

• Sign in at the office and receive a visitor’s pass.

• When you enter the classroom please do not interact with the children in any way.     

   You will be required not to instruct any child and to remain without causing any

   distraction to other children in learning activities.

• Please feel free to take notes during your observation times and discuss any  

   questions or concerns you may have with the teacher after class or ask the

   Administrator questions.

• Please sit quietly.  Do not encourage or initiate any conversation with the children.

Any parent displaying any inappropriate behavior will be asked to leave the

classroom and school grounds.

 

 Parents of the children who are enrolled are free to visit our facility for an inspection at any time. We reserve the right to refuse admission to any parent/guardian if we suspect that the parent is liable to cause damage to the well-being of a child or children under our care, or that parent is under the influence of an intoxicant. Any use of language that is inappropriate in the presence of a child will not be tolerated. We will require that parent/guardian to leave.

 

Grievances

Parent/ guardians with any grievances, concerns or problems pertaining to their child are encouraged to place their grievances in writing, whenever possible. Due to our commitment to devote all the available time to the children under our care, we would like to set up an appointment convenient to the parent to address those issues. Please do not have daily conferences with any our staff members. When you do so, you are taking the instructors' focus from the rest of the children towards you.

 

Every child has the right to be treated with dignity and respect irrespective of the ethnicity, color of the skin, religious beliefs, and cultural differences. They are not to be confined to a room for any reason and inflict corporal punishment. Food or drink will not be withheld from a child for any reason. We strictly follow these principles. At the time of orientation, our staff is required to sign document stating that they have received and read these instructions.

 

Information Changes

If the parent or guardian moves from one residence, change the phone number, work location, it is the duty of the parent to notify us immediately. Our records must be maintained to perfection with such information. Your child's welfare depends upon such information.

 

Supplementary Services

We have a list of services from federal, state and private agencies that are formulated to provide for the needs of the families in difficult situations. Most of these services are free to children and their families. Please see the Administrator in the office if and when you have a need for assistance to direct you to the correct agency. If we do not have one in our files, we will find one for you. The first step is for you to meet with the Administrator.

 

Parent Education

Periodically, we will have parent education classes (workshops) to expose the methods of education that we follow in the classroom, so that we have a smooth flow of understanding, combining and uniting our efforts, bringing the classroom to the home for us to be a single unit with a driven purpose to give the best to our children.

 

Policy Changes

We reserve the right to make changes to the policies and fees provided in this Parent Handbook.  Parents will be provided written notice of any such changes a month prior to implementation.

 

rev G. 6/17/14