San Francisco, CA
Bright Horizons/Letterman Digital Arts Center
Parents at this school would recommend this school to other parents. |
Review this preschool |
neighborhood: Presidio · Telephone: (415) 746-5444 · Website: www.brighthorizons.com
Home-School Connection
| OVERALL RATING (4.4) | |
| Conducts an open house at start of school year | |
| Conducts a parent-teacher meeting at start of school year | |
| Conducts regular parent teacher conferences | |
| Provides summary of child’s learning at end of year | |
| Provides guidance on developmental goals for the following year | |
| Provides guidance on best Kindergarten and elementary schools |
source:
Savvy Source's Comments
Bright Horizons offers a variety of school-home connection materials. One is www.brighthorizons.com/growing. This is a site where parents can find resources, information, and programs designed to help their child grow, learn, and discover. From cultivating a love of books or channeling their childâ??s natural curiosity into scientific inquiry to discovering valuable parenting tips and ideas, this parent resource Web site was designed with parents and families in mind.
Our program for learning, The World at Their Fingertips, also has a World at Home component. The World at Home provides a database of activities for infants through school age children to do at home with parents, many that naturally flow from everyday life. The activities cover the curriculum spectrum - language, science, math, social skills and so on. Parents can draw off of this database to extend what is happening in the classrooms. They may also submit activity ideas to share with all of our faculty and families around the world.
Bright Horizons has also teamed up with The Learning Network to offer Bright Horizons EarlyLearner, a wonderful online child development support service. Bright Horizons EarlyLearner allows parents and teachers to track each child's development and create an online portfolio. A portfolio includes parent-teacher Child Observation Records that map the child's growth and a journal to record experiences and insights from parents and teachers. Bright Horizons EarlyLearner also includes:
â?¢ information about development
â?¢ classroom activities targeted to the child's development
â?¢ tips for parents and teachers
â?¢ opportunities to question experts
Bright Horizons EarlyLearner is integrated into The World at Their Fingertips approach to parent conferences and tracking development: a partnership approach designed to create a shared point of view on the child's development and goals for success.
Children in our infant and toddler programs also receive daily notes sharing some of the dayâ??s highpoints as well as information on meals and diaper changes. Each child (infant through preschool) also receives a journal chronicling their time at the center. Journals are an interactive communication tool for parents and teachers to record highlights of both center and home life.
Bright Horizons has an open door policy so parents can visit any time. Annual parent teacher conferences are also conducted for each child in the center.
Separation
| OVERALL RATING (4.2) |
source:
Director's Comments
Ensuring and facilitating a smooth and successful transition from Bright Horizons' preschool or kindergarten programs to public or private schools is a major goal and responsibility for all of our programs. Our responsibility is not only to provide the best educational experience that we believe is possible, but to prepare children for the schools they will be attending, many of which may be more structured and less developmentally appropriate than we might wish.
Our READY for SCHOOL program includes a set of materials designed to assist our centers in helping children succeed in school and life. These materials combine and highlight many of the excellent aspects of programs already existing and give guidelines for strengthening programs where that is needed. By providing quarter by quarter guidelines for both preschool and school-age programs, parents can feel confident that their children will leave Bright Horizons with the skills needed to succeed in school and life.
Parents' Comments
Parent #1
Though there is an open door policy, teachers will imply that you are there to pick up your child even though you specify otherwise.
Parent #2
The teachers always welcome the parents to visit the classrooms whenever the parents choose - many parents even come and have lunch w/their children (I do!).
Parent Community
| COHESIVENESS RATING (2.8) |
Parents:
- Are able to visit the school anytime we want
- Go on field trips
- Volunteer in the classroom
- Receive newsletters
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Modes of Communication Between School and Home
- Notes
- Phone Calls
- Special Meetings
- Two or More Regular Conferences
- Drop-Off
- Pick-Up
- Regular newsletter/printed updates circulated to the whole school
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Parents' Comments
Parent #1
Email only for documentation purposes
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