How does the waitlist work? How long is it?
What are your group sizes, and ratios of adults to children?
What will a typical day for my child look like?
Do you follow a certain curriculum?
What are the staff requirements? What is your staff turnover rate?
What about ongoing staff training?
What do you do about biting/hitting/aggression? What is your discipline policy?
What about potty training?
Building security?
What is your illness policy? What if my child is sick?
Absences/Vacations/Tuition reimbursement?
How many days a year is your program closed?
Menus, special diets and allergies?
Parent responsibilities/opportunities in regards to volunteering and or donating?

How does the waitlist work? How long is it?

We maintain a list of families who are interested in hearing about our openings. Families give us some basic information including their contact inforamtion, age of their child, the date they would like to enroll, gross family income for scholarship purposes when scholarship are available (please note that scholarships are not always available). We contact families on the wait list as spaces become available. If the opening is a good fit for the family, we begin the enrollment process. If the family asks us to do so, we keep them on our list for future openings when the timing might be better.

Currently enrolled children do have priority status when it comes to an opening in a given room. Before we look at the waitlist for candidates for our openings, we look to the group of children in the younger room.

The length of the list varies with the age group. Typically it is more difficult to find a spot for younger children due to the limited availability of Center-based care for Infants, Wobblers and Toddlers. Also, our capacity in these programs is more limited than in our mixed-age preschool.

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What are your group sizes, and ratios of adults to children?

Our basic group sizes range between 8 and 18 children. Our ratios also depend on the age of the children in the group. They look like this:
Infant Room , ages 6-weeks to 12-months-old; capacity: 8; Child-to-teacher ratio: 4:1
Wobbler Room , ages 12-months to 18-months-old; capacity: 8; Child-to-teacher ratio: 4:1
Toddler Room , ages 18-months to 21/2-years-old; capacity: 16; Child-to-teacher ratio: 4:1
Junior Rooms , ages 2 ½ - 3 ½ years old; capacity: 10 per classroom / 2 classrooms of 10; Child-to-teacher ratio: 5:1
Preschool Rooms , ages 3 ½ -5 years old; capacity: 10 in Preschool 2. 18 each in Preschool 1 and Preschool 3. Child-to-teacher ratio: 10:1
Before and After School Programs , ages 5 to 12-years-old; capacity: 45 children at Sabin Elementary School, 30 at Boise Eliot Elementary School and 30 children at Peninsula Elementary School. Child-to-Teacher Ratio: 15:1

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What will a typical day for my child look like?

Most of our children are here at the center for 8 to 10 hours each day. It is our goal to provide a relaxed pace, with a balance maintained between indoor and outdoor-time, quiet-time and active-time, individual or small group activity and larger group occasions. Each classroom has a schedule which is followed each day in order to provide children with a comforting routine. Teachers plan activities during the day based on the interests of children in their groups, taking care to provide a variety of choices to meet individual needs within the group. Of course, in the Infant room we work very hard to respect each baby’s individual schedule, allowing babies to eat, sleep, and play as their body dictates.

At Peninsula Children’s Center we follow a set of guidelines which were developed by leaders in the field of early childhood education. These standards which we refer to when we have questions or problems to resolve are called “Developmentally Appropriate Practices.” We are a ‘play-based’ program, as opposed to one which centers on academics. It is our strong belief that children learn as they play and interact with their environment. It is our goal to support the development of the whole child. Each day, in each classroom, teachers prepare a supportive environment with a variety of activity choices. Children are free to decide how they will spend their time. Teachers are there to support learning in all of its facets. They are also there to observe, and make note of, the choices which children make. Those observations are the basis for developing ongoing curriculum, from week to week. Thus, activities and environments are a direct reflection of the children and teachers who spend their days in each classroom in the center.

Each classroom contains these interest centers:

• A dramatic play area which includes a items for pretend play with various items.
• A book corner with a selection of age-appropriate books.
• A block area with materials for stacking, building, and arranging. 
• A ‘sensory table’ with something interesting for eager hands to explore.
• An outdoor area with age appropriate opportunities for running, riding wheeled toys, climbing, sliding, and playing with balls and hoops.

Our children also have daily opportunities to explore art materials, and various items for developing muscle control - from puzzles, legos, and stringing activities for small muscles to beanbag tossing, balance beams, and tumbling activities for larger muscle. Each day, all of our teachers read to their children, and provide them with opportunities to experience music, through singing, playing rhythm instruments and listening.

We do put special emphasis on the social aspects of our program. Peninsula Children’s Center is a great place to learn how to make friends, how to be a friend, and how to get individual needs met in a group setting. Each day provides opportunities to participate in large and small group activities. Many of our children establish friendships here, over a period of several years, which they continue to enjoy even after they have moved on to elementary school.

Creativity is another aspect which is given a place of honor in our program. Many of our favorite materials are very open-ended and allow children the chance to explore and interpret as they choose. It is our belief that children learn a great deal by having the ability to make choices and express their individuality through their play. Free expression with art materials, dancing, singing, story telling, and problem solving are all encouraged and nurtured.

We believe every child needs and deserves a safe, secure and stimulating environment, which begins with a positive, nurturing relationship between your child and his/her teacher. Each of Peninsula’s classrooms is led by a teacher who has been certified as a Child Development Associate (CDA), has a relevant degree, or has the required training hours. The Head Teacher develops the classroom curriculum under the guidance of Director of Education Sue Stauber, MA, Early Childhood Education. The teachers are supported in the classrooms by Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists from Morrison Child & Family Services through the North Portland Partnership .

The staff at Peninsula Children’s Center is one of our biggest assets. Several members of our staff have been caring for children here for 15 or 20 years. We also have relatively new members of our staff who have been with us for 1 to 3 years. We value our staff and make every effort to respect their professionalism by offering a competitive wage scale with merit incentives, full dental, vision and health insurance coverage, and a generous childcare tuition discount.

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What about ongoing staff training?

Each year, we are closed to families for two days of staff development. We also require all regular members of our teaching staff to keep current Infant and Child CPR Certification, a current Food Handler's Card, and to obtain at least 15 clock hours per year of continuing education, as required by the State of Oregon. Additionally, each member of our regular teaching staff in our Early Childhood Education Program works with the Director of Education to develop a personalized professional development plan, insuring their continued growth as a teacher. These plans may include participation in local workshops and classes, correspondence coarses, pursuit of the Child Development Associate Credential and Higher Education, and/or work on implementing goals specific to the individual teacher and their classroom.

Our teachers participate in monthly team meetings which always include an educational component, and our Head Teachers participate in montly meetings focused on developing leadership. Curretly most teaching teams are also meeting weekly during naptime to work on our self study in pursuit of NEAYC Accreditation.

We put a high value on our teachers continued growth and professionalism beacuse research shows it is critical to providing high quality care to children. We support this by keeping our staff informed of proffessional development opportunities, by provinding some training on site, by paying for some training off site, and by helping staff members, by helping staff members obtain scholarship funds for training we are not able to afford. We also encourage on going education by providing wage insentives tied to profesional growth. 

It is Peninsula Children’s Center’s goal to assist children through adjustment periods, to help them develop social skills, and to learn appropriate behaviors. The following are guidance techniques most commonly used in our programs to help children develop self-control, self-esteem, and respect for others, while promoting a positive environment and personal growth:

At no time is physical or verbal punishment used with a child. This means no slapping, hitting or spanking, name calling, embarrassing or shaming of any child in any classroom or at another program activity. Children are not denied food, water, or access to the bathroom. Food is not used as a reward or a punishment.

All adults need to follow the same guidelines when they are visiting or volunteering in the classroom.

Although dismissal for disciplinary reasons is rare, it does happen. Whenever possible we prefer to implement early intervention and to have the parent, child and teacher work cooperatively toward a solution. Staff will closely coordinate with the family to resolve differences and meet each child’s needs.

Children usually begin the process of potty training here at around two years of age. Our bathrooms have child-sized toilets, which seem to make the process a bit less threatening. We believe very strongly that this is an area where adults must let each child take the lead as they work toward this milestone of development. Our role is to support and encourage, but to allow the child to be in control. Staff members work with parents to monitor readiness regarding different stages of the process.

Peninsula Children's Center's main door is open during business hours. Access to the classrooms is limited by the coded security door for parents, children and teachers. All of our doors, of course, may be exited at any time, however parents and staff are asked to enter and exit only through the front door.

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Our center is not licensed to care for ill children. Although we are allowed to admit children who are mildly ill with perhaps a cold or an ear infection which is being monitored, there are many illnesses which we must exclude in order to protect the health and safety of all. It is important that our parents have a back-up plan for those times when their child is ill. Our illness policy was developed in compliance with County and State regulations.

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Absences/Vacations/Tuition reimbursement?

In order to obtain a stable income with which to pay our staff and operate our program, we must charge parents for care, whether or not their child attends each and every day.

How many days a year is your program closed?

We are closed on 10 days each year: New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. We do close early on Christmas Eve. Two of those days, President’s Day and Veteran’s Day, are Staff Development Days. We are closed for families, but staff report to work for trainings and classroom projects.

Menus, special diets and allergies?

Our meals are prepared on site, by kitchen staff. They try to provide a balance between tried and true children’s favorites (macaroni & cheese, spaghetti, chicken noodle soup, etc.) and some dishes that might broaden their diets a bit (eggplant, humus, sweet and sour chicken, lentil soup, Mexican salad). Although we do have sweet treats at some of our snack times, including cookies, fruit crisp, and pudding, we also rely heavily on fruits, vegetables, dairy products, crackers, muffins and bagels.

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Parent responsibilities/opportunities in regards to volunteering and/or donating?

It is the goal of our Board to encourage all parents to find a way to participate in our community. As a not-for-profit organization, we make use of many donated items, from drawing paper to furniture. Our parents also donate money, time and expertise. 

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