Classroom Configurations

Children are eligible for placement in an infant room if they are at least 8-weeks-old and less than 15-months-old at the time of enrollment. Children are placed in a toddler room if they are between 15-months- and less than 33-months-old at the beginning of the academic-year and in a preschool room if they are between 33-months-old and five-years-old at the beginning of the academic-year. Children remain with the group for the entire academic-year, for example, a child remains in a toddler room until the end of the summer following the academic-year even if he turns 33-months-old during the academic-year or summer. The classrooms may be mixed-age. Developmental placements (children placed in a fixed-age group outside of their chronological age) may be considered and requires approval from the Massachusetts Department of Education. Please click here for the EEC Developmental Placement Policy.

Placement decisions

The placement of children in classrooms at the CECE is a very careful and thoughtful process.  We strive to balance a variety of aspects of the group.  These aspects may include gender, age, social connections, individual needs and abilities, class size, family circumstances, and schedule requests. We have several goals when we determine placements.  We solicit input from teachers and parents to place children in supportive social groups.

Looping

Many children spend the two or three years of their infant/toddler and preschool years with the same group of children and teachers, although this may vary for individual children or groups for a variety of reasons and is not guaranteed.

Interactions among Mixed-age Peers

The classrooms at Fort Hill collaborate with one another to a great extent.  Children interact with children from other classrooms both formally and informally on the playground, in the visual arts and music studios, the Commons, and in the classrooms.  There are many opportunities for children to interact with children of all ages and for siblings to interact with one another during the day.

Preschool Visiting Program

In addition to informal and spontaneous visiting, the preschool classrooms have a system through which children independently choose to visit the other preschool classrooms and the studios. Each classroom prepares individualized magnets for each child that include a head shot and the name of the child. When a child wants to move to a different space, he asks his teacher, takes his magnet from the magnet board in his classroom, and checks in with the new teacher so that she knows he will be in the group. He places his magnet on the magnet board in the new classroom and the new teacher communicates with the original teacher so that all teachers know where the children are at all times.

Transition Practices

A family’s transition to an early childhood program is important in developing relationships and facilitating communication among adults and children. Children may experience a transition when they are newly enrolled at Fort Hill as well as after they have been at Fort Hill for a period of time. For example, some children enroll only for the academic-year and return after a summer break, some children move from the toddler to the preschool level at the beginning of the academic-year, and some children change classrooms within their level.  For every child, even children returning to the same classroom, the first days of the transition are filled with new experiences.  We try to make transition periods as smooth and comfortable as they can be for each child because they serve as a foundation for developing trusting relationships and a positive and fruitful year at Fort Hill, as well as for future transitions.  We have designed a transition program to allow families and children to gradually become familiar with the teachers, the other children, and the environment.  Because each child responds to separation individually, this period of adjustment may vary among families.  The classroom teachers work with each family to facilitate a smooth transition. Teachers maintain communication throughout the year, as many factors can affect a child’s transition to school. Teachers communicate in person and electronically to share information with parents about children’s adjustment to school. Teachers formally discuss children’s transitions during conferences. Please see the Assessment and Reporting section for more information about conferences.

Children currently enrolled at Fort Hill may transition to a new classroom during their time in the program. Typically, this transition happens at either the beginning of the academic-year or the beginning of the summer program. For example: the summer program is a separate program and enrollment decreases during the summer, therefore we review the summer enrollment in the late spring and reconfigure the classrooms for the summer program; similarly, when a child reaches the age of 2.9 before September 1, he or she is eligible to begin preschool and transitions from the toddler wing to a preschool classroom at the beginning of the academic-year; and, some of the children who are enrolled in the Group S classroom transition to Group A or Group B after one year in Group S.

For a variety of reasons, including Massachusetts Teacher certification requirements, teachers typically remain in either the preschool or infant/toddler wing. Therefore, children move to a classroom with new teachers when they move from toddler classrooms to preschool classrooms. The children in the toddler classrooms are typically placed in mixed-age groups in all three preschool classrooms.  To the greatest extent possible, we place children with at least one classmate from their toddler room.

The following procedures facilitate the transition for children who are new to Fort Hill or to the preschool level:

• Children attend an Open House or are invited to visit the school before beginning the program.
• Teachers make home visits to all children new to Fort Hill or new to the level (e.g., toddlers moving to the preschool level).
• The year begins with an orientation program; if a child enrolls in the middle of the year, we encourage parents to stay in the classroom or building until the child is comfortable.
• Teachers read the developmental history forms and reports from previous teachers.

Open House

We hold an annual Open House in the winter for prospective families to visit the school, see the classrooms, and meet the teachers. All supervising and studio teachers attend the Open House. We send invitations to all eligible toddler families, as well as to families who have inquired about the program during the year.

Home Visits

Children who are new to the program or who are transitioning from the toddler program to the preschool are invited to meet the teacher during a home visit. During the home visit, children have the opportunity to meet their teachers for the first time in their home environment.  Parents may also choose to plan the “home” visit to take place at Fort Hill. Parents provide teachers with written and verbal information about their child’s preferences and needs. Parents share information with teachers about their child’s routines, cues and developmental milestones.  Teachers may respond to questions about their practice and philosophy of working with young children.

The August mailing includes a scheduled time for a home visit for each new toddler and preschooler during the week before school begins (the infant teacher calls families to arrange the infant home visits).  Home visits are very informal.  The primary purpose of the home visit is for children to meet teachers while in a familiar environment and in the company of their parent or caregiver to form a strong foundation for a trusting relationship among children, teachers, and parents.

The visits lasts about fifteen minutes.  Teachers arrive at a child’s home, looking forward to meeting the child wherever s/he feels comfortable – home visits can take place on the front steps, the driveway, a child’s room, basement playroom, or outdoor swing set.  Teachers often take a picture of the child in a spot of his/her own choosing.  A home visit ensures that each child who arrives at school for the first day will see a familiar face in the classroom. The children confirm the value of these visits by referring to them throughout the year, “Remember when you came to MY house?”

A Home Visit Supplement Form is enclosed in the August mailing. This form gives parents the opportunity to note any thoughts, concerns, or knowledge about their child that they or their child feel is important for teachers to know prior to the first day of school.  Parents complete the form and give it to their child’s teachers at the time of the home visit.

Classroom Orientation

Preschool Two-Day Orientation Program

There are twelve to twenty children in each of the preschool classrooms.  On the first two days of school the class size is reduced to allow children to be introduced to new friends and teachers, the classroom routines and organization of the day in a small group with a lower child-to-adult ratio.  This is an important transition even for those children familiar with the school and with prior large group experience as it allows them to be introduced to their new group in an environment with more individualized attention.  Children attend school on their regular schedule for one of the two orientation days.

Infant/Toddler Phase-In Orientation Program

We encourage families to consider the first week of the program as an important foundation for their child’s full adjustment to her/his time at school as it helps to form the bridge between home and school.  Transitions are often eased when a parent remains with the child and the child’s schedule is reduced during the first week.  We hope families plan to stay with their child for a few hours to play, observe and communicate with the teachers and other families during the first days of the program.  When children are prepared for and nurtured by their parents in the classroom setting, children gain an initial feeling of familiarity and emotional security that usually carries over when the parent is no longer present.  This time also gives teachers an opportunity to observe and ask questions about individual patterns of interaction to enable them to continue consistency of care when the phase-in period is over.  Children benefit in many ways when teachers and parents communicate and develop positive relationships.  We hope that by transitioning in this way, families will feel a part of the classroom throughout the year.

The orientation program is also important for returning children.  All children will return to a new environment with new children and, most likely, at least one new staff member.  The orientation allows children an opportunity to ease into routines after a long break, to become familiar with the changes and reestablish connections. Teachers and families plan together how to support returning children.

Transitions for Children Moving from the Toddler Rooms to Preschool

Fort Hill supports children’s transition from the toddler program to the preschool program in the following ways.

• Children visit classrooms and siblings in the preschool wing frequently throughout the year, and therefore are familiar with many of the children and teachers as well as the physical facility.
• Families are invited to attend an Open House and to arrange time to observe the preschool classrooms.
• Teachers begin describing the transition during the January conferences. Teachers document families’ plans for preschool on the Conference Summary forms.
• The director provides families with detailed information in February, through a blog and face-to-face meeting, about how the preschool program differs from the toddler program. For example, the schedule options, class size, teacher: child ratio, tuition rate, daily schedule, assessment and reporting practices, and program differ in each of the levels (detailed below).
• In the spring, teachers carefully plan for the children who will be attending preschool in the fall to spend more time in the preschool classrooms with their familiar toddler teachers. In the summer, the toddlers spend increasing amounts of time on the preschool playground and in the preschool classrooms, with their familiar teachers and both with and without preschool-age children.
• In the summer, toddler teachers begin introducing routines similar to the preschool routines, e.g., slowly moving lunch to a later time and increasing independence.
• The director, teachers and families share information about social connections and carefully plan placements in groups.
  • Teachers ask families about their child’s social connections during the May conference.
• During the August professional days, the toddler teachers and preschool teachers meet and discuss individual children and how best to support them. Teachers read the Developmental History forms of all children.

Differences between the Fort Hill Toddler and Preschool Programs

The differences between the preschool and toddler program are described below:

Schedule:
 The scheduling options for preschool are:

3, 4, or 5 days 8:00 – 12:45 (all children eat lunch at Fort Hill)
3, 4, or 5 days 8:00 – 2:45
3, 4, or 5 days 8:00 – 4:45

Families who enroll 8:00 – 2:45 may extend a day until 4:45 on a space-available basis. The fee for this program is paid separately and is not eligible for the Smith College employee tuition grant.

Tuition:
The tuition rate for preschool is less than for toddlers because the class size and child:teacher ratios are different.

Class Size:
There are three preschool classrooms. One classroom, Group S, is limited to 14 children. The other two rooms, Group A and Group B, are larger and are limited to 20 children. These rooms may be either mixed-age rooms with children ranging from two years, 9 months to five-years-old, or single age rooms, depending on the applicants and reenrolling students each year. Children who are enrolled in the Group S classrooms spend one year in Group S then transition to Group A or B for the following year or two years (depending on the child’s eligibility for kindergarten).

Child:Teacher Ratio:
The Massachusetts state law mandates a ratio of 10:1 or better. We choose to have more teachers in a classroom than the state requires. When a preschool classroom is enrolled with 17 -20 children, there are three teachers. When there are fewer than 17 children, a classroom is staffed with 2 teachers.

Teachers:
The teaching teams typically remain as either infant/toddler or preschool teams (there are different teacher certification requirements for each age group) and it is almost certain that a child’s teachers remain in the infant/toddler wing and children meet new teachers in the fall. We have several strategies to ease this transition (see above). Children visit the preschool classrooms frequently and the visits increase during the spring. In the summer, the toddlers who are preschool-age eligible typically spend a great deal of their time in the preschool areas.

Groupings:
Children do not necessarily stay with all of the children from their toddler room. The existing groups (e.g., South Room and East Room) are typically split up. We ensure that every child is placed in a group with another child with whom he or she has formed a strong friendship and discuss these relationships with teachers and parents. Teachers solicit information from families during the May conference regarding special friendships. Because the preschool classrooms collaborate to a great extent, children have many opportunities to interact with all children in preschool.

Visiting Program:
Similar to the toddler program, children in preschool are free to visit other classrooms, as well as the visual arts studio during the morning. Teachers maintain a system for keeping track of the children. In this way, they can visit other friends and experience a wide range of materials. Preschoolers also frequently visit siblings and familiar teachers in the infant/toddler wing.

Studios:
The music and visual arts studio supervising teachers teach the studios in the morning and assume the responsibilities of supervising teachers in the afternoon. The visual arts studio is open to only preschoolers, as the materials in the studio may be small enough to pose a choking hazard for young children.

Daily Schedule, Snack, Lunch, and Nap:
The preschoolers typically begin the day on the playground shortly after 8:00 am. They also typically eat lunch and begin nap later than the infant/toddler rooms. Snack in the preschool is “open” or “choice” snack (the infant/toddler rooms may do this occasionally – in preschool it is typical that snack is available for children to choose the time during the morning they want to eat snack and they independently set their place, serve themselves, clean-up their space, and document that they had snack (each classroom has a system, e.g., putting a clothespin with your name into a basket when you arrive for snack). Because of the number of children and the small refrigerators, preschool lunches are kept in their cubbies, not in a refrigerator, so many families use ice packs to keep the lunch cold.

Assessment and Reporting:
The January narrative report form differs from the infant and toddler narrative report form.

Preschool to Kindergarten Transition

The majority of kindergartens in the surrounding area have an age cut-off date of five-years-old by September 1. Children who are born between September 1 and December 1 typically spend three years in preschool because they are eligible for preschool when they are 2 years, 9 months old and are eligible for kindergarten when they are five-years-old.

To facilitate the transition for children moving from Fort Hill to kindergarten:

• Preschool teachers visit local kindergartens to familiarize themselves with the programs.
• Teachers and families begin sharing information about kindergarten in January.
  • Supervising teachers initiate and document conversations in the Conference Summary form about families’ kindergarten plans during the January conference .
• In the late spring, teachers follow children’s lead in discussing the transition to kindergarten.