It's that time of year when we are gearing up for new enrollment for the next school year, giving tours, and holding our Open House. I know parents are faced with the tough decision of where they should send their child to preschool (or kindergarten.) There are so many amazing options out there with lots to offer your child. I feel like it's important to share why I feel like CDS is among those amazing options and why you should join our family. I have to say, it's a little awkward writing this post. I'm not one to brag so bear with me while I give it my best shot.
We are family at CDS. We care about your child, their siblings, and you! We want to partner with you to help your child reach their fullest potential in every aspect of their life. We want to know what's going on in their lives and how that could be impacting them. We care about their successes, failures, and feelings. Our teachers call their students their "kids" and that's exactly what they are! We work hard to include families in our school year with fun events and parties. We love our little CDS community.
ALL of our lead teachers (and some of our assistants) have their degree in education. It might not mean that much to you when you are thinking about who is teaching your two year old, but our teachers have been educated on how your two year old thinks and behaves, what's normal behavior or what behaviors you should be concerned about, and what are realistic expectations for their age range. And when they are four years old and ready to read, our teachers have been taught what process needs to happened and what skills they need to know before they advance to the next level. We also believe that classroom experience is important so we look for teachers that have "been there, done that" :) Our staff is amazing and truly care about building a strong, educational foundation for our students.
One of my favorite parts, our staff consider each other friends. We live life together. Our families know each other. We are there for each other. Again, maybe this doesn't seem important when choosing a school, but it is. Our teachers support each other and help out wherever they are needed. They share ideas and resources. They encourage each other and lift each other up. Our work environment is pleasant and fun. Everyone enjoys coming to work. As most of you know, that's pretty special and hard to find. Another great thing about our staff is that everyone is passionate about teaching and are excited to do their jobs. We get to work along side women that LOVE what they do each day!
We put people before policy. We focus on what is best for our students over numbers, money, or success. If I'm being completely honest, every single month is a struggle for us financially. We use every resource we have to provide the very best program we can. Curriculum trumps savings every time. I'm sure all the finance people out there are rolling their eyes but I'm an educator at heart, not an accountant. What matters most to me is that we are providing everything we possibly can to make our teacher's jobs easy and enjoyable, and our students successful.
I hope you will come see for yourself what makes CDS special and give us the honor of teaching and loving your child. We promise to take the responsibility very seriously.
Ashley Danko
