Parent Involvement

The ECC believes that the partnership between parents and the Center should be a strong one. This is why we have an open door policy, which enables you, as parents, to come visit anytime. We encourage parents, grandparents, and families to see how your children spend their day. The ECC also invites parents to come and share lesson plans for a theme, a family or ethnic tradition with the entire Center. The ECC has occasional Saturday field trips so the entire family can attend. Although the ECC does not function as a parent co-op, parents, through the Parent Group, are frequently asked to express their hopes and desires for the program. The Parent Group meets every other month. The time of the meeting is scheduled by the Parent Group President. The Parent Group does fundraising and organizes parties and field trips.

NAEYC Accreditation

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the largest organization of early childhood professionals in the United States. As a an independent group of specialists and educators, NAEYC sets child care standards of excellence in the areas of staff qualifications, learning programs, health, safety, classroom environment and children’s activities. This distinguished organization has provided leadership in the early childhood field for over 90,000 members. NAEYC accreditation process is not an easy one. There are many different aspects of a program that must meet its high standards and it takes months of preparation. Only a small percentage of the centers operating in the United States meet and have the qualifications for the NAEYC accreditation. We are proud to say that The Community House Early Childhood Center has been NAEYC accredited for over 9 years now. We were one of the first centers in the area to receive this benchmark of quality. If you would like to review a list of accredited centers in your area or if you would like more information on NAEYC you may visit the website at www.naeyc.org.

HighScope Curriculum

Our Preschool curriculum is based on the nationally recognized HighScope curriculum. The HighScope Educational Research Foundation was founded by Dr. David Weikart. The HighScope approach is based on key learning indicators (KDI's), not traditional preschool themes. It is an active learning environment that provides the children opportunities to make plans and follow through with those plans. This curriculum also focuses on developing the children’s critical thinking skills. We like to call it our “Hidden Agenda” curriculum, the children are learning while doing activities they think are just for fun! There is at least one, and usually many, purposes behind everything the teachers say and do. If you would like more information on the HighScope Foundation please visit their website at www.highscope.org.