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ECP
EAKIN
CARE PROGRAM, INC.
2006 - 2007
Lori
Romersa, Administrative Director
Barry Nelson, Assistant Director
Eakin
Care Program, Inc. strives to maintain balance in the program by
providing equal space for each age group/grade level. Enrollment
is open to the public and children are admitted by date of waiting
list application and age group/grade level availability. It is our
requirement that the parent or guardian come in person to fill out
the waiting list form; no fee is charged until the space becomes
available. Call us at (615) 298-8062 for more information.
Program
Overview
Eakin Care Program (ECP) is a parent
operated, non-profit corporation located in the Eakin School Annex
building. ECP is licensed by the Tennessee Department of Human
Services (DHS), and has been awarded a 3 star rating for the DHS
Star Quality Program.
We serve children, Kindergarten through
4th Grade, 5-12 years old, before and after school hours, during
school closings and on snow days. We
offer full-day summer care during the summer months. ECP is governed
by a parent-elected board of directors which meets approximately
7 times per year to develop policies and procedures and monitor
financial stability for the program. The governing board of ECP
is committed to providing a high quality, developmentally appropriate,
recreational program that is safe, interesting, and fun for the
children.
To maintain good communication between parents and staff, ECP directors
are available every day to answer questions; parent conferences
are offered each school year; a monthly newsletter is produced;
notices are posted on doors and at the front entrance, and periodically
parent seminars/workshops are offered.
Parents are welcome to visit the program anytime. It is every parent's
responsibility to stay current with announcements and to respond
to ECP correspondence as necessary.
ECP is licensed by the Tennessee Department of Human Services and meets
all specific requirements outlined for safety, health, and
supervision of children while in child care. A summary of these
requirements is included as the last 4 pages of the Staff and Parent Handbook 2006-2007
ECP has a long standing commitment to equal
employment opportunity and affirmative action. All employees, applicants
for employment, applicants for enrollment, and families currently
enrolled will be treated equitably and without regard to race, sex,
age, national origin, religion, veteran service, or handicap status.
ECP
has an established staff to child ratio of 1 to 12 each day. Our
staff are qualified to work with children and are closely supervised
each day as they strive to give individual care to every child.
All staff submit to a criminal background check (required by Department
of Human Services) and are cleared through the Tennessee Child Abuse
Registry.
Eakin
Care Philosophy
Eakin
Care Program currently serves 125 children daily and has been in
continuous operation since it was first established in March 1977
by a group of Eakin School parents in need of child care in a cooperative
effort with Metro Schools Community Education. Recognized as the
first program developed by and for parents, ECP has been used as
a model program for 27 years. The program is guided by the philosophy
that school-age child care exists to meet the needs of working parents
and their children and should be planned in response to the developmental
needs of the children served. It is our feeling that since most
of the child's developmental needs will be met by the home and the
school, this program should compliment rather than supplement the
school's curriculum and be more like the home environment than the
school environment. This is a place to relax, experience new activities,
learn about group social interaction and to get involved in recreational
physical movement. We encourage children to be self directed while
participating in activities and we strive to be supportive of each
family and their values. Most importantly we work to create an environment
where children may develop a positive self concept.
Program
Goals
Our children have opportunities to choose activities, and to move
about freely from one activity to another. The following activities
are available daily: gym and outside play, building with blocks,
homework area, creative art projects, "free expression"
art, computer games, reading books, listening to books on tape in
the listening center, foosball, playing music in the musical instrument
center, socializing with friends, learning new tabletop games, choosing
manipulatives, or just sitting quietly to relax. Some same-age special
group activities are also offered.
Kindergarten:
Kindergarten children are transitioned from the preschool to the
elementary school environment; a separated activity area with age
appropriate books, supplies, games and materials is used as a meeting
place. The caregivers for this group are specially trained and will
work with the group on a daily basis. Kindergarten children are
given the same opportunities as the older age groups and will be
able to adjust at their own pace. They will have many chances to
interact within the multi-age group as well as with their 5 year
old friends. 24 Kindergarten spaces are made available each year.
Age-group
characteristics we use as a guide when planning activities:
1st
Grade:
Characteristics: short attention span; wants to know; asks
questions; begins to understand the idea of teamwork; highly creative;
likes small group activity; seeks personal attention; eye-hand coordination
is developing.
2nd-3rd
Grade:
Characteristics: longer
attention span; more interested in group play; loves to be challenged;
interest in group play; likes to plan with and for others; becoming
more conscious socially; becoming more interested in sports; reaction
time is slow.
4th
Grade:
Characteristics: wants
to know the rules of the game; knowledgeable about and interested
in sports and game strategy; questions the relevance and importance
of activities; enjoys team and group activity; the competitive urge
is strong, wants to be independent; will accept responsibility;
peers are important; wants to be part of the group.
Homework
Hall
(Available Monday through Thursday)
Homework
Hall (HH) is a place where your child may sit in a quiet classroom
environment to work on homework. The Metro teacher, employed by
ECP, will help your child understand directions in order to do the
work; tutoring is not available. If you would like to "contract"
with us to send your child to HH on certain days/times, please put
your request in writing to the director; otherwise, children may
go to HH anytime, as an option.
Hours
of Operation
Regular
child care is available from 7:00 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. each morning
before school and from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day after school.
We charge a late fee for children picked up after 6:00 p.m. Parents
will be assessed a late charge of $1.00 per minute for every minute
after 6:00 p.m. that the child is present. The door to the parking
lot will be locked at 6:00 p.m. each day. The ECP digital clock
at the Greeter's Desk is set daily according to the Time and Temperature
Service (259-2222). The fee is payable directly to the staff person
who stayed, or the parent will be billed the following day. The
fee is due no later than 2 days after the late pick-up; if the fee
is not paid by the deadline, the child will be suspended from the
program until it is paid.
Please
remember that ECP is not staffed to care for children after 6:00
p.m. Plan to be at the center by closing time. More than 5 times
of non-emergency late pick-up after 6 p.m. will result in dismissal
from the program.
ECP
child care is available from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on days when
school is closed for teacher in-service, parent conferences, and
school holidays, with the exception of a very few holidays, when
ECP is also closed. The calendar, given to you during the first
week of school, lists the holidays when ECP is closed.. A fee is
due and a pre-registration deadline is set for all planned full
days.
Snow
Policy
If
the weather is beginning to cause hazardous driving conditions during
a snow day or regular school day, please arrange to pick up your
child as soon as possible so that ECP staff will be able to drive
home safely. ECP will remain open until 6:00 p.m. or until
every child is picked up. On announced snow days, ECP WILL OPEN
AT 8:00 A.M. and will close at the regular time unless hazardous
road conditions are apparent. The ECP director will have the
discretion to CLOSE AT 4:00 P.M. in case of worsening conditions,
and each parent will be called. ECP will remain open until every
child is picked up.
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