The Saratoga Parent Nursery School community is built on the partnership between parents, teachers and children. Studies show that parents who are engaged in their child’s early schooling lay a strong foundation for their child’s future education. Our mission is to provide the resources and support for families as they navigate this parenting journey.
Responsibilities
For the Toddlers Learning Together class, an adult caregiver attends each class with the child. For the 2’s Class and the Pre-K Combo Class, we require families to help in the classroom one day a week on a rotating basis. If the class is full, there will be some weeks a family is “on-call”. An “on-call” family stays and assists in the classroom only if a parent has a last minute emergency and cannot work on their work day. Some weeks a family is scheduled off and is not needed in the classroom.
Each family must attend an orientation meeting at the beginning of the year. The parent handbook is introduced as well as policies and procedures during this important meeting. The orientation is meant for those parents who are primarily acting as the ‘work parent’ in the classroom each week. If a nanny or other family member will be doing the ‘work parent’ role, they must also attend the orientation.
Parents are encouraged to use their talents to support the school. We require each family to take on a school-wide committee role. We look to give families smaller more manageable jobs that won’t take up much of their time outside of class, while helping the school to run efficiently for their children. For example, your school-wide job could be the classroom field trip coordinator, social media or someone who helps the toys stay clean and organized.
Throughout the year, the Pre-K Combo Class has three mandatory Parent Education Night/Class Meetings, the 2’s Class has two mandatory Parent Education Night/Class Meetings and the TLT Class has one mandatory Parent Education Night/Class Meeting. Our Parent Education Night portion is open to all enrolled families. Topics range from early literacy, setting boundaries, social development and positive discipline.
SPNS hosts three Saturday Parent/Teacher Cleaning/Work Days in August, January and May. Families are required to attend two out of three work days or opt-out for $75/Saturday.
Parent Education
An essential part of our program is the support and guidance we offer our families. Parent education comes in many forms at SPNS.
- On your classroom work day, you will have the opportunity to learn from your classroom teacher in effective ways of communicating with young children.
- During each work day, parents have an opportunity to have discussions with their teacher about any issues or observations that may arise that day, as well as, any triumphs or questions.
- Teachers send out weekly newsletters which offer insight into our child-centered curriculum, as well as articles on relevant topics such as developmental milestones, temperaments, positive discipline, supporting early literacy and more.
- During the mandatory orientation meeting, the teaching staff provide additional information to support parents and children including conflict resolution techniques.
- Through out the year, SPNS also supports families by offering parent education evenings. There are six Parent Education Nights throughout the school year for enrolled families, however some are mandatory for some classes according to the school calendar. We also offer a variety of school socials.
