Campus Children's Center: Frequently Asked Questions

• What are the fees for the Campus Children's Center?
• How do I get on the waiting list?
• How many children are in each room?
• What are the school's hours and schedule?
• Can a sick child attend school?

 

Fees as of January 2010

Infant Room	$212/week
Toddler Room	$212/week
Young Preschool Room	$207/week
Preschool Room	$200/week

 

 

How do I get on the waiting list?

Parents can put their child's name on our wait list by filling out an application form during pregnancy, or any time thereafter. After filling out the application an email will be sent confirming the application has been successfully received. We encourage parents who have children with special needs and families of diverse backgrounds to put their names on our waiting list.

With a few exceptions, enrollments are on a first-come, first-serve basis with preference normally given to full-time UVM faculty or staff children. If a UVM family already has a child at the Center, they are given priority over new families for enrolling another child. Children with special needs may also be given a priority. Because we are a lab school, with the exception of families already enrolled at the Center, the program reserves the right to selectively look for a specific age-range or gender when filling spaces. In addition, enrollments may include one or two children who represent a diverse range of experiences and backgrounds from the extended community.

What is the child to teacher ratio?

All of the classrooms have 2 primary teachers, early childhood students who have a year-long placement in the classroom, and work study students. In the infant room there are usually 3 adults to 7 babies, in the toddler room there are 3 adults to 7 children, in the young preschool there are 3 adults to 9 children and in the preschool there are 3 to 4 adults to 18 children. During the academic semester the ratio of adults to children is often higher.

During the summer months (May through August) the mentor teachers remain constant (except for vacation times) but the secondary staff changes. As much as possible, our aides for the summer consist of recent early childhood students and work study students who are already familiar with the children. There may also be student teachers in the classrooms.

What are the school's hours and calendar?

The Campus Children's Center is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Though staff may come earlier and stay later, it is important that you adhere strictly to these hours of operation for drop-off and pick-up times. Plan to pick up your child no later than 5:15 p.m. so that you will have enough time to talk to the classroom teacher about your child's day and leave the Center no later than 5:30 p.m.

The Center is open 10 hours per day to accommodate varying work shifts for parents. However, we do not feel it is in the best interest of your child for them to be in group care 10 hours per day for many reasons. We encourage parents to find creative ways within their family to keep their children's day to a maximum of 8 to 9 hours. It is important that parents have other support systems outside of the Center to help with their child care needs.

You will note in the School Calendar that during winter break and spring break we have shortened our hours (typically 8 1/2 hours) to reflect the lack of students available to work during these times.

If your child will be arriving after 9:00 a.m., please call and let us know. We often plan walks or field trips for this time and will need to make arrangements for someone to be here for your child's arrival. Thank you!

The Campus Children's Center observes the following snow closing policy. If the South Burlington school district closes for the day, we will have a delayed opening of 11:00 a.m. This will, hopefully, give enough time for primary teachers to get to the Center. However, parents must understand that at least some primary staff must be in attendance for the Center to open and if this becomes a problem, there may be only a partial Center opening or there could be no opening. Our license will not allow us to operate without a primary staff person on the premises and we have state licensing guidelines which must be followed in terms of adult/child ratios. Please note that this policy is not the same as the University's policy.

The Center observes scheduled University holidays. In addition to this, the Center is closed between Christmas and New Year's and for 6 staff inservice days during the year which are usually taken the third week of August with one additional day during the year (see Center Calendar).

Can a sick child attend school?

We are not equipped to care for sick children and ask that if your child is not well enough to participate in the normal school day, including outdoor play and walks, that he/she be kept home. It is a state regulation that children will be excluded from the Center with the following symptoms:

• Fever of 100 degrees orally (101 degrees rectally) or higher (Your child is not allowed to come to the Center if his/her fever is under control by the use of medications)
• Severe cough
• Vomiting
• Undiagnosed rashes
• Diarrhea (5 loose stools beyond what the child normally has in 24 hours, or loose stools persisting for more than 48 hours)
• Difficult or rapid breathing
• Others, as staff deems necessary
  

According to regulation and good practice, if your child has any of the above symptoms or if for other reasons the staff feels that your child is too ill or potentially contagious to remain at the Center, you will be called to come and pick up your child. It is expected that parents will come immediately to take children out of the Center if called by staff. If you are unavailable, we will call your emergency contact to come and pick up your child. Young children occasionally do not register a fever, but are too sick to cope with group care. We are not staffed to provide one-on-one care.

If your child contracts head lice, we require that he/she stay home for 24 hours after treatment. We will rigorously check heads of all the children for several days, proceed with disinfecting the classroom materials, and check the child that returns for several days. We realize this is a problem we will have from time to time, but it is very contagious and we need to be vigilant with our procedures.

Communicable diseases such as rubella, mumps, measles, chicken pox, impetigo, hepatitis, conjunctivitis, head lice, strep throat, scarlet fever, etc., require medical treatment. Children should not return to the Center for a specified period of time, depending on the disease. Please see the classroom head teacher or your child's mentor teacher to determine the length of time your child should remain out of the Center.

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Last modified September 17 2010 03:30 PM