Brandy Scheetz is the director at Medina Weekday Preschool and I am grateful that she took the time to answer our questions. I hope you find this helpful if you are looking for a preschool for your child(ren).
Medina Weekday Preschool – Class Details
Question: Please give us an overview of the classes that you offer including ages, days of the week, and time of day.
Answer: Our AM sessions begin at 9:00 AM and end at 11:30 AM. PM Sessions begin at 12:30 PM and run until 3:00 PM. Students are placed in classes based on their age as of September 30th, and all children entering the program are required to be fully toilet trained.
3-Year-Old Classes
Monday and Wednesday AM and PM Sessions
Tuesday and Thursday AM and PM Sessions
Monday, Wednesday, Friday AM Session
4-Year-Old Classes
Monday, Wednesday, Friday AM and PM Sessions
Tuesday and Thursday AM and PM Sessions
Monday through Thursday AM Session
Preschool Enrichment Program (PEP) AM and PM Sessions- This is an enrichment class that can be added to any of the 4-Year-Old Classes or taken alone.
5-Year-Old Class
Monday through Friday PM Session
Question: How many teachers and students are in one class?
Answer: Our 3-year-old classes hold a maximum of 15 students per session with 2 teachers present at all times.
Our 4 and 5-year-old classes hold a maximum of 18 students with 2 teachers present at all times.
Question: Do children need to be fully potty trained?
Answer: Children are required to be fully toilet trained. We fully understand that accidents are to be expected from time to time and take care to be sure that all children have a change of clothing on hand in the event of an emergency.
Medina Weekday Preschool – Education, Learning Styles, & Daily Schedules
Question: How much time are the children sitting at desks versus moving and learning through activities?
Answer: Our philosophy of learning is one of purposeful play. We know that research supports the fact that preschool aged children learn the best when they are engaged in activities that encourage manipulation of cognitive materials, promote exploration and support working alongside other children to become problem solvers. Our classrooms are set up each day to keep children rotating through a variety of experiences to meet the early learning standards through movement, music, art, sensory experiences, science investigations and practical math exploration. Our teachers work hard to provide activities that build fine motor skills necessary for writing and cutting, and we encourage large muscle time through outdoor play when weather is favorable or in our Large Muscle Room on days where outside play is not able to take place. Children spend time working through some activities in small groups with their teachers, rotating through the learning centers throughout the room, hearing stories on the carpet, participating in music and movement as a class and exercising during large muscle time. All of the Ohio Early Learning Standards are addressed through our curriculum based on learning through purposeful play.
Question: Please give us an example of a daily class schedule and/or link to a resource on your website that details this.
Answer:
Welcome and Hand Washing
Calendar Circle Time/Story Reading
Projects and Centers
Large Muscle Time
Snack Time
Songs/Rhymes/Movement
Dismissal
Question: Do the teachers have degrees/licenses/certifications in Early Childhood Education?
Answer: Our lead teachers have a B.S. or B.A. in a field related to Early Childhood or Elementary Education. Assistant teachers have at least an Associate’s Degree and 2 years of experience in early childhood education.
All teachers are CPR certified, Background Checked, trained in recognizing child abuse, and take an additional 6 hours of training in the field each year. Teachers are also trained in First Aid and how to deal with Communicable Diseases.
Medina Weekday – Safety, Discipline, & Health
Question: How do you monitor/control who is coming into the building while students are there?
Answer: Our entry doors and classroom doors are kept locked at all times. Visitors must buzz in at the door and wait to be let in by the Director.
Question: What is your school’s approach to discipline should it be needed?
Answer: We believe that a well run classroom begins with setting clear limits for the children so that they understand upfront what the expectations for the room will be. If teachers note behavior issues, they are quick to get down on the child’s level to talk with them and model how a problem could be solved. At the preschool level, we find that determining the source of frustration and teaching the children strategies to use to help solve the problem is usually enough to diffuse a situation. Students are sometimes pulled aside by a teacher and asked to sit with them and listen to a book so that they can calm down if the need arises. Sometimes, children take a walk with the director around the halls when they need a minute to regain control and compose themselves to return to learning.
Question: What happens if there is a COVID-19 outbreak?
Answer: If there is a student or staff member in attendance who tests positive for COVID, the classroom and teachers affected will be placed on a 10 day quarantine. During this time the teacher will be responsible for providing online instruction for sessions missed. Due to the fact that we are currently temperature checking, assessing symptoms at the door and making use of different drop off and entry points for each classroom, we are able to only quarantine the group that would have been in direct contact with a positive individual.
Question: Are students required to wear masks?
Answer: No. Students are not required to wear a mask. We encourage students who want to wear a mask to do so, and our staff are all required to wear a mask during the day.
Medina Weekday – Registration Information
Question: When is the deadline for registration? How do parents register their children?
Answer:
There is no deadline for registration. Open registration for new families began on January 25th and will continue as long as we have space available. More information can be found on our website, www.medinaweekday.com Registration paperwork and instructions can be found on the website or obtained by stopping in at the preschool office. I am also happy to answer any questions or schedule a personal tour. I can be reached at 330.723.7550 or mwpdirector@zoominternet.net
