child development family engagement plan

Center Scenario #3

Lottie’s House is a small child care center, situated on the campus of a local non-profit agency, serving 15

families with 40 children. Most of these families are using subsidy to pay for care, though a small number also

private pay on a sliding scale (based on income). Though it is on the property, the non-profit does not sponsor

Lottie’s House. The director is Ms. Vanessa, who has worked at the center for almost 20 years, in a variety of

roles. She was happy to talk about how the center engages and involves families.

Every day, staff in the classroom welcome the child and whoever is dropping them off by name. They ask

questions about how the child’s night or weekend was and if there is anything the center should know about the

child or family. The staff also have a similar conversation with the adult that picks up in the afternoon – greeting

the adult, letting the child know its time to clean up and go home, and talking about what happened throughout

the day. Ms. Vanessa was clear that teachers avoid having conversations about “good days and bad days.

Mostly because children might have bad moments, but we learn from those and keep growing. We talk about

learning moments instead of judging the day”. Infant and toddler classrooms also share daily sheets that tell

families about the day’s activities, when a child ate (and how much), and when they had a diaper change (or

went to the bathroom). The older classrooms make monthly newsletters that share information about what

children are learning and at least one activity families can do at home that relates back to what the classrooms

are doing. Normally, families that do the activities can share them with the teachers and are highlighted on a

bulletin board in the classroom. The classrooms also have Parent Boards where they can put information for

families like the teacher/child ratios, menus, lesson plans, and center closure dates.

The center also has celebrations throughout the year that families are invited to – “Thanksgiving, Christmas,

Easter, and Summer festivals are fun times for families to come together and fellowship with each other. One or

two parents may help the staff prepare for these events, but we pull it off each year”, explains Ms. Vanessa.

Parents are also asked to join the older classrooms for lunch or to read books during Dr. Seuss week in the spring

– when they do it, they dress up or wear pajamas like the children. It’s a fun time.

With so many families on subsidy, Ms. Vanessa says that Lottie’s House has always worked to coordinate care for

the children – there is a pediatric dentist, physical and speech therapists that come regularly for the children and

the library bus comes by to get books for the classrooms and children (they have to stay at the center though).

Whenever a class is investigating community helpers, the center will also get visits from police and fire fighters or

make the short trip to the nearby grocery store to learn more about some of the community helpers. If any

family members are community helpers, the center will ask them to come in as well.

One last thing Ms. Vanessa wanted to share was that the Pre-K teachers have made connections with three

Kindergarten teachers who have helped them create a parents’ program for getting ready for Kindergarten. The

three teachers come from the main schools most of the families will attend and help prepare parents and

children for the transition to Kindergarten. They do a session in the fall that talks about how the teachers in the

classroom will focus on preparing the children, then one in the winter about making the choice for schools

(families can apply for magnet and charter schools here), and one before the summer where they can join the

Kindergarten teachers in their classroom and get a tour of the schools. “Families have really enjoyed attending

this boot camp of sorts, they have said they were better prepared for Kindergarten and could help their child get

ready too).