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About Learning
Tree
Learning Tree Philosophy
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Why You Would Choose the Learning Tree
Prepared by Roslyn Duffy, Co-Founder
Choosing a program in which to entrust your child for many hours each day is difficult. Many factors must be considered.
For nearly twenty years the Learning Tree has cared for children. We
believe we not only provide the best care for children, but we also are a modern
day extended family of support to our families and staff.
The following quotes and references precede specifics about our program. We trust they will aid you in your important task of selecting a program for your child and family.
1. Staff Training Research shows that, “teacher training is the most important element related to high-quality care of children.” Two studies conducted by the Families and Work Institute and released in April 1995, confirmed this conclusion
The National Child Care Staffing Study, showed “that when child care providers complete training, they give more sensitive and appropriate care.”
Finally according to Carol Bunson Phillips, PhD, executive director of the Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition in Washington. D. C., “When adults can anticipate children’s needs and know the capabilities of children within certain age ranges, they are able to plan experiences that children enjoy and learn from.” excerpted from an article in Working Mother, July 1995.
LT: The Learning Tree has a clearly defined staff training policy. All head teachers have Montessori training that includes one year of course work and one year of supervised internship. Other staff have college degrees, early childhood training or are enrolled in local college programs.
Weekly staff meetings take place that include at least once / month formal training. All staff are required, (and compensated), for a minimum of 12 hours of additional training annually: which includes outside workshops, college coursework or reading and reporting on books and articles.
Staff members participate in a multi-week Positive Discipline Training program. (The school discipline policy is based on Positive Discipline for Preschoolers, Prima; co-authored by Roslyn Duffy.)
Finally, all staff are trained annually in CPR, First Aid, Earthquake preparedness, AIDS training, Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Anti-Bias Curriculum.
2. Quality Indicators According to the Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers Study, among the characteristics shared by good-quality centers are:
From The National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1995, article by Elizabeth A. Bye, the executive director of the Trinity College Community Child Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The same Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes Study is quoted in the May 1995 edition of the Childcare Information Exchange as assessing that “center accreditation provided parents with a readily identifiable indicator of quality.”
LT: In addition to this high level of staff training, highly qualified men and women direct the program. Our Directors have over 35 years of experience between them. The Learning Tree Directors offer training sessions to other programs, including participation in training courses for Child Care Directors at local community colleges.
Staff turnover at the Learning Tree has stayed at approximately 20% or less for many years. This compares to more typical rates that frequently top 60% or more.
The Learning Tree is licensed by the State of Washington DSHS; Seattle King County Health Dept. and the City of Seattle Fire Department. We are also part of the Comprehensive Childcare Program of the City of Seattle. (Such licensing requires that we actually exceed minimum state licensing requirements in order to participate in subsidizing care for children from low income families.)
The LT maintains national accreditation (since 1989), which is re-evaluated at two year intervals, through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). It has professional associations with the Childcare Director’s Association of Greater Seattle (CDAGS), the nationally run Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), and both the American Montessori Society (AMS) and Pacific NW Montessori Assoc. (PNMA). Finally, the LT is a participant in the Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS) and is credentialled by the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a State approved, private school offering a fully accredited kindergarten program.
3. Parent Involvement “. . .parent involvement has an important and enduring impact on children’s progress in school. . . involvement during pre-K. . . appears to have an enduring positive effect on children’s behavior in the classroom. Parent involvement also affects children’s grades and performance on standardized achievement tests, with involvement during children’s second year in school being especially critical for later school success.” from the Early Learning and Early Identification Follow-Up Study: Transition from the Early to the Later Childhood Grades, 1990-93, by Rebecca A. Marcon as reported in Young Children, Nov. 1994.
In an article co-authored by R. Eleanor Duff, Ph.D.; Mark Tompkins, Ph.D. and Sally McClellan and printed in the September ‘95 edition of Child Care information Exchange, they propose parents ask themselves: “Are these persons willing to work with parents as partners in providing supportive care and education for our children?”
LT: The parent involvement at the Learning Tree is unique. All parents are participants in the various Parent Committees and meet in small groups regularly. Throughout the school our motto is posted: “Working in partnership with parents to nurture and challenge tomorrow’s world citizens.”
The Learning Tree’s commitment to parents and families is expressly described in the mission statement of the program. “We are a community of people working together to bring harmony into one another’s lives.. . Our goal is to provide an environment that enriches all whom it touches. We work together to create a place where everyone can grow and feel nurtured and accepted.”
The Learning Tree maintains an ‘open door’ policy. All parents are welcome to be at the school at any time. We consider this a place for families and all are encouraged and welcomed to be comfortable and at ease here.
Several things are built into the program to assure ongoing communication. Parents are involved in conferencing twice each year, or more often if needed. Daily anecdotal information is shared orally and in written form. Parents have designated mailboxes to facilitate two-way information processing and all staff are available by phone; including access to Directors whenever a concern arises.
4. Children at Play “Young children are, without a doubt, ‘noisy animals. . .if you don’t like the noise, don’t be a teacher.” Sylvia Ashton-Warner as quoted in Young Children, May 1994.
LT: Watch the children at the Learning Tree. They are happy and active and very much ‘at home’. The classroom is not bedlam, (not usually anyway!). Listen for a busy ‘hum’ of activity. Tune your ears to the sound of energetic, productive and growing children at work.
5. Celebrate Diversity “As we work with children to help them develop positive self-concepts, we must also work with ourselves until we come to the place where we realize that there are many right ways to live, many right ways to solve problems, and many right ways to look at the world. Our homes and educational settings must become true celebrations of options and choice that allow children to appreciate the beauty of individual styles--especially their own.” Lynn A. Manfredi/Petitt, M.S.Ed, a graduate of Bank Street College as reported in Young Children, 1994.
NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment by Stephanie Feeney and Kenneth Kipnis states: “To provide the community with high-quality, culturally sensitive programs & services.”
LT: The Learning Tree actively seeks to expose children to a variety of lifestyles. Whether participating in visits with older adults at a nearby care facility, celebrating “adoption day” with a classmate or learning about a family’s beliefs when a parent comes in to share one of her personal or cultural traditions, our children participate in a world enriched by diversity.
Our staff actively seek to practice an anti-bias curriculum and an entire parent committee is devoted to that end. The Learning Tree is gifted by a wealth of different backgrounds, lifestyles and physical abilities. The Learning Tree includes men in its caregiving staff. Nurturing men and women provide all the children, staff and parents with healthy role models.
Still another parent committee, Outreach, endeavors to give children, staff and families ways in which to share our resources for the well-being of others; such as blanket drives for the homeless, parties to raise funds for agencies serving children or the gathering of supplies to help needy families. 6. Multi-Age When asked, “What do you see as the advantages or disadvantages of being in a multi-age classroom?”, Elementary students who had been in Montessori programs had definite ideas. Their responses included:
“The older students help me. . . We can learn from younger people. . . Sometimes I learn things I’ve forgotten from watching lessons with younger children. . . Having older children in the class is like having more teachers.” from Tomorrow’s Child, Vol. 3, Number 4
LT: Montessori classrooms are composed of children ranging in age from 2 1/2 to 5 years. This age span corresponds to the developmental stages of childhood. * No real life family consists of 20 two- year-olds and neither does ours. Each classroom has children from a range of ages, with staff spanning different generations as well, to create a more natural ‘extended family’ atmosphere. * Based on the work of Tim Seldin, President of The Montessori Foundation and co-author of The World in the Palm of Her Hand and Celebrations of Life.
7. Vision Are there dreamers here? Galinsky and Hooks, in discussing child care in The New Extended Family, talk about vision in their final chapter. They ask, “Does a good program of necessity have a special kind of person who acts as a unifying force, pulling the program together, making it cohesive? . . . The answer to that question was an overwhelming yes. These leaders had a dream, a vision of the kind of child care they wanted and they were persevering and willing to fight for it.“
The Learning Tree began as a dream. It continues year after year because of families like you. You bring the dream to life.
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The Learning Tree 1721 15th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 324-4788 email: seatree@aol.com Contact the webmaster |
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