The Ark Early Childhood Learning Center Is a Peanut Free Facility

THE ARK EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING CENTER IS A PEANUT FREE FACILITY.

Mission

A ministry of Trinity Heights United Methodist Church, The ARK Early Childhood Learning Center will provide safe and loving Christian-based education and care in a fiscally responsible manner.

1. As a first priority, the ARK will prepare children, ages birth through preschool, for future learning and growth in faith, intentionally utilizing Christian curriculum.

1. As a second priority, families who connect with The ARK will find a supportive community that promotes positive relationships.

1. As a third priority, The ARK will maintain financial sustainability with fees similar to comparable centers, wise use of resources and receptivity to the stewardship priorities of Trinity Heights UMC.

Description of Services

The ARK includes a child care program for infants, toddlers, twos, and preschoolers. These programs include flexible scheduling options and are developmentally appropriate with activities, curriculum, and learning materials geared for each group.

Philosophy

The ARK is designed to promote quality child development in a setting where Christian values and principles are observed.

A goal of The ARK is to provide children with experiences that build a good self-image, fosters creativity, and develops an awareness of all persons as children of God. We believe that through a wide variety of experiences the child can become friendly, considerate, and loving.

We strive to provide an atmosphere that fosters critical and creative thinking as well as self-respect, self-reliance, and self-discipline. A child’s spiritual growth is promoted by modeling and teaching Christian attitudes and values.

The ARK serves as both a resource and a support system to parents. Open communication is one of the most important ingredients in a quality program. As partners in “parenting” we welcome your comments and concerns.

Hours of Operation

The ARK offers services to children five days a week, Monday through Friday. The hours for childcare services are 7:00 am – 5:30 pm. Full days are considered more than 6hoursper day; half days are considered to be 6 hours or less per day.

Snow Days

The Ark Early Childhood Learning Center will ONLY close for snow if Northern Arizona University is closed. However, if FUSD calls a snow closure, The ARK will open at 9:00am. This is to ensure that the parking lots and sidewalks are clear and safe for staff, parents and students. If FUSD calls a snow delay, the director will determine the status of an ARK delay. Doors will not open until 9:00am, as teachers need to get classrooms ready.

Snow delays or closures will be announced on KAFF and KMGN radio as well as on our Facebook page @ARK.THUMC. There will also be a message on the office phone as to the status of the day.

To check on an FUSD closure or delay go to and click on snow day status.

The ARK is also signed up with REMIND. This is system to create a computer generated text message and will be used for snow days, emergencies and lock downs. You will be given a code at the time registration with instructions on how to sign up. I highly encourage all parents to sign up as this will give another form of communication in case of emergency.

Enrollment and Withdrawal

Registration will be considered throughout the year on a space available basis. Summer registration will be held the end of February, fall registration will be held in March.

Parents may pick up a registration packet from the child care office to reserve a spot for their child. At the time of registration, a non-refundable registration fee will be collected. Prior to being admitted, the following forms must be completed and returned: A.D.H.S. Blue Immunization Form and Emergency Treatment Authorization.

The ARK is in session for twelve months of the year, following a typical business calendar. Tuition is charged on a monthly basis and is due on the first day of each calendar month. A late fee of $25.00 will be added to the amount due if paid after the 5th of the month. Checks should be made payable to The ARK .If a check is returned by your bank for any reason, a returned check fee of $30.00 will be assessed by The ARK. If registration occurs at any time other than the first, tuition will be prorated for that month. Tuition is charged based on a 20 day month. All ARK closures are already worked into the monthly tuition. Tuition is based on the space reserved, not the amount of time your child attends. If a child is absent due to illness or vacation, his/her tuition must be paid in order to hold his/her place in the school. No reductions, refunds or alternate days will be given in the case of children being out for any reason, this includes parents’ convenience, vacations, trips, or school closures etc. In cases of extended illness when hardship is involved, an adjustment may be made by talking with the director.

It is understood that a child who is admitted is enrolled for the entire year. The parent or guardian is required to give a 30 day notice to the school prior to withdrawal of the child. A withdrawal without a 30-day written notice will result in a full month’s tuition charge. Parent initiated changes to a child’s schedule must be approved by the director at least 2 weeks prior to the change. Children will periodically, at the discretion of the director, change rooms due to their age and ratios for the classroom. Parents will be notified in advance in order to begin the transition.

Parent-Helper Rates are given to parents that sign up for a regularly scheduled time to assist at The ARK. You must sign up for 2-5 hours per month, depending on your child’s class and there are limited spots for this discount.

Families who have been active members of Trinity Heights UMC for two months can receive a 15% discount on their tuition. An active member is one who attends church 2 of 4 Sundays a month and has officially joined or is in the process of joining the United Methodist Church.

Our budget is based on class occupancy; therefore, our policy regarding late and/or delinquent accounts states that if your account is not paid by the 10th of the month, special arrangements need to be made with the director. Accounts that are delinquent for 30 days or $200.00 in arrears must have payment immediately, or the child/children will be unable to attend The ARK until the outstanding amount is paid in full. A 25.00 late fee may be assessed for account 30 days past due. If special arrangements are made with the director and the criteria for payment are not met, the account will be turned over to a collection agency. There are no refunds for withdrawal without 30 days written notice to the director.

Child Admission and Release

Parents or other authorized adults (must be 18 years or older and designated on the registration form) must sign the logbook with a signature and time of arrival and departure every day. Parents or authorized adults not known by the teachers will be asked for identification. If another adult will be picking up your child, please make sure your child’s teacher has a note with the name and phone number of the person picking up your child. If it is an emergency situation, please call the office with the information. Any adult picking up your child who is not on the Blue Emergency Form or that we have not received prior permission from you, will not be able to pick up your child until we have talked to you in person regarding this matter. You must escort your child to their room. Do not arrive more than 5 minutes prior to the start of the session. Also, children become upset if parents are late picking them up--please be prompt. Children should be picked up by 5:30pm.After 5:30pm if you are late you will be given a late notice the first time, after that you will be given a late charge. Circumstances and situationschange and come up, (I.E. traffic jam, accident, etc.If you are going to be late, the protocol to avoid a late charge is to call the office at 714-0667 ext 227 and either speak to Dana or leave a message.This is for the occasional time. If you are calling numerous time during the week, you will be assessed the late charge. At 5:30 Dana and Mary Margaret are usually not in the office. If now one answers the phone, you must leave a message on the phone for your child’s class. Dial 714-0667 and use the extensions below. You must leave a message in your child’s classroom as the phones do not ring in the actual room. A $1.00 per minute late fee will be charged for EACH minute that a child is left past the regularly scheduled pick-up time. If a child is not picked up by 6:00pm, and all attempts have been unsuccessful to contact all parties on the Emergency Information Sheet, Flagstaff Police will be called and asked to handle the situation. We abide by all legally served court orders. If there are custody restrictions, we must have a certified court order on file in The Ark office.

Classroom Extensions:

Little Roos- 223 Caterpillars-228 Heffalumps-217

Lion Cubs-226 Busy Bees-225 Pre-K-224

Mary Margaret-231 Dana (Office Assistant)-227

No child should enter or exit the building without being accompanied by an adult. Also, the children are not allowed to open the doors ( this includes classroom doors as well Only parents and teachers are allowed to open doors. This is for the safety of your child as well as other children in the facility.

Drop off

Please park in designated parking spots and not next to the curbs. These lanes are used by all who come into the facility but also by emergency vehicles. Parking next to the curb results in backed up traffic as well as emergency vehicles no being able to get where they need to be.

Doors open at 7:00. Please do not attempt to drop off children earlier than that. If staff are here, they are getting their rooms ready for the day. If a need arises on a special occasion that you need to drop off early, please speak with your child’s teacher as well as Mary Margaret to see if an arrangement can be made.

When dropping off your child/ren in the morning we have found that dropping off and leaving is the best for both parent and child. It’s easier to get the child to calm down and bond with the teachers if parents leave right away. If your child is having a problem it is always better to hand them off to a teacher then to try to stay in the room with them. I know it might be difficult but we all want what’s best for your child/ren. Being positive every morning about school will also help with ruff mornings. If you have any concern or questions please come see the Director or the lead teachers in the classroom.

Security and Safety

There is only one unlocked door for entrance into the ARK. All other doors are locked during ARK business hours. Anyone other than ARK families dropping off or picking up children must stop by the office and check in. Security cameras are placed outside in various areas around the building for observation of outside activities.

The ARK is required to have routine fire drills once a month. These will be conducted for both the church and the ARK. All fire drills will be conducted spontaneously. In the event of a true evacuation from the facility, the staff of both the ARK and the church will evacuate the children as we are taught and proceed to the “safe” location based on the type of evacuation and we will proceed from there as to the next step. Parents who hear about the evacuation from other than an ARK staff person please adhere to the following procedures:

PLEASE DO NOT COME TO TRINITY HEIGHTS

Please wait to be contacted by ARK staff for information of when and where to pick up your child.

Facebook and Remind will be used to keep you informed.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER, TRINITY HEIGHTS OR THE ARK. We ask you maintain clear phone lines so the ARK staff and emergency personnel can make contacts as need.

THE SAFEY AND SECURITY OF YOUR CHILDREN IS OUR NUMBER ONE CONCERN.

In the event of a Lock Down: follow the same protocol as above.

DO NOT COME TO TRINITY HEIGHTS OR ATTEMPT TO CALL THE ARK. The safety of the children is our first priority. We will secure the children before making contact. You will be notified of the situation as soon as possibleand will continue to get notification as information is given to us. Again, we will make contact through Facebook, Remind or by staff. Please remain calm and know that policies are in place to provide the most secure and safe place for your children.

CLASSROOMS

Infant

We accept infants at 6 weeks of age. We understand that this can be a very difficult time, so we are here to help you transition. Ask us whatever questions you may have; there is a wealth of knowledge in the infant room. To help make your transition a bit easier, here are some things you need to know: each child will have their own crib and a bin to put diapers, food, bottles, extra clothes (marked with your child’s initials) and any other item you need to leave here. This will eliminate the need to bring a diaper bag back and forth. We can administer medication, so we ask you to provide Tylenol, ibuprofen, gas drops, teething tablets, etc. You will need to fill out a Medication Consent Form for these items. We have plenty of blankets, sheets, bibs, burp cloths and toys. Laundry is done on a daily basis.

To be accepted for the waiting list in the Infant Room, you must pay a $300 fee. This fee ensures your child priority when an opening becomes available. You will be called as soon as that occurs. When you are notified of an opening, a registration fee of $100.00 will be due at that time, as well as an actual start date for your infant. You may start your infant up to a maximum of 2 weeks after the original anticipated start date without incurring any tuition charges. If you choose to start at a later date, you will be responsible for the tuition whether your child attends or not. Tuition is collected in advance of attendance. Once you have a spot, the $300.00 will be applied to your 7th month infant tuition or the first month in the toddler room. If you are on the infant waiting list and do not have a secured infant space by the time your child turns one, you may enroll him/her in the toddler room, have the $300.00 applied to the first month’s tuition, or you may choose to receive a refund on your deposit.

FOR NURSING MOTHERS: We have access to a freezer, so you may bring frozen breast milk. You are also welcome to come in at any time to nurse, just let us know so we don’t inadvertently give your child a bottle. On that note: Please make sure your child drinks from a bottle prior to attending The ARK. It makes things a lot easier, not only for the infant staff but also for you. Many times, when newborns start in the infant room, if they are not used to drinking from a bottle, their day can be miserable. Avoid the distress of wondering whether your little one is getting enough fluid, and start them on a bottle early. They are amazing in the fact that they will do both, nurse and take a bottle.

We can have 15 infants in that room with three to four teachers, so the room can get very noisy and busy at times. Sleeping can be interrupted if your child is used to sleeping in a dark/quiet room at home. Let your baby take naps in the living room while the radio or television is on, vacuum, run the dishwasher, get them used to sleeping through noise and in a well lit room. This way, they will be used to strange noises when they come to the infant room and will be able to sleep.

We have two infant rooms. The first room is a 6 week to 9 month or crawling room, and the second is a 9 month to 15 month or walking room. The second room is really a transition room to the toddler room. We will begin to transition your child to the schedule of the toddler room. Snack, lunch and naps will coincide with the toddler room to ensure your child is ready for that room. We will work on specific skills such as feeding themselves, drinking from sippy cups, gross and fine motor skills and beginning communication skills.

Toddlers

The toddler room is for children ages 15 months to 24 months. They need to be drinking from a sippy cup, eating finger foods and napping ONE time per day (preferably between 12:00 and 3:00). This room will continue to work on fine and gross motor skills, following directions and routines, sharing and interacting with other children. We provide sippy cups, bowls and utensils for the classroom. The children will be served milk at snack time. If you want your child to have milk at lunch, please provide it with their lunch. Please do not send juice boxes or pouches. Children will also be offered water throughout the day.