Summary

Contact Info

Alive Child Development Center
2723 King Street
Alexandria , VA 22302
www.alive-inc.org/Alive%20CDC.htm

Tel: (703) 548-9255
Fax: (703) 548-0082

Director: Pamela D Blankenship
acdcdirector@aol.com

General Approach to Learning

Play-based

Play-based with some structure

Predominantly teacher-led instruction

Montessori

Waldorf

Co-op

Reggio-Emilia

Application Information

Applications accepted

After a face-to-face meeting at the school, parents must be working, in a job training program, or going to school 30 hours per week families must live or work in the city of alexandria each family must apply for a dhs subsidy

Wait list

No

Deadline for applications

Rolling

Key Statistics

Total enrollment

40

Student/teacher ratio

8:1

Age cutoff for enrollment

3 years

Extended day

No

School year

Year round program

Kindergarten Placement

Kindergartens that preschoolers from this school are now attending

MacArthur, Maury, Ramsey, John Adams, Polk

Survey Information

Director survey: Yes

Savvy Source survey: Yes

General Info

Basic Stats

Total enrollment

40

Student/teacher ratio

8:1

Established

1972

% of teachers with:

- Teaching credentials

50%

- CPR

100%

- First aid

100%

Transportation and Drop-off Policies

Transportation

- Parents bring their children to and from school

- Located close to public transportation

Dropoff Procedure

- Parents walk their child into the classroom

- 6:30 AM is the earliest time a parent can drop off a child

Late Pickup Policy: parents must call to advise staff of need for late pickup; fee is $10 for any part of first 5 minutes, then $1 per minute afterwards; fee payable in cash the next business day; after three late pick-ups, child may be terminated

Features of the Preschool

Provide a third year

No

Provide a kindergarten and elementary school program

No

Affiliated with a religious institution

No

Some experience serving children with special needs	Yes
• we serve children at risk of school failure due to a variety of socio-economic factors; some of our children also have speech and language delays; they receive on-site services of a speech therapist who visits from the local school district

Accreditation, Membership & Awards

Accreditation by the National Association of Young Children

No

Other Accreditations

in process of reaccreditation with NAEYC

Facilities Include:

Classrooms (with bathroom attached)

Classrooms (with kitchenette attached)

Music room

Art room

Library

3 classrooms; bathrooms located down the hallway

Playground

School Philosophy & Day in the Life

School Philosophy and Mission

"ALIVE! Child Development Center believes in meeting the developmental needs of each child. We believe the child actively seeks knowledge in a well planned, safe environment which enhances his or her growth in all areas of development-social, emotional, physical, language, cognitive, and self-help skills. Children participate in play activities which teach age appropriate skills according to the developmental and individual needs of each child. The center has a family support worker with a master of social work degree.
ALIVE! Child Development Center protects and respects the dignity and worth of each individual child and family regardless of cultural background. We believe the staff at ALIVE! Child Development Center serve as resource persons and guides for your children, actively promoting his or her creativity.
Our program is structured to enrich children's experiences so that they get along well with other children and adults, develop their self-esteem, and are prepared for successful learning and positive social interaction in public school.
"
Excerpted from the preschool's website

Typical Day-In-The-Life At This School

Director has not yet submitted this information to the Savvy Source

Curriculum & Teaching Approach

General Approach to Learning

Play-based

Play-based with some structure

Predominantly teacher-led instruction

Montessori

Waldorf

Co-op

Reggio-Emilia

Director's Comments

we offer a balance of learning activites: child-selected, informal, and teacher-directed

Curriculum and Teaching Approach


Language				YES
Oral language	-		-	n/a
Nursery rhymes, poems, songs	-		-	n/a
Storybook reading	-		-	n/a
Emerging literacy skills	-		-	n/a

Cognitive Development				n/a
Math and number sense	-		-	YES
Time & space	-		-	YES
Sci. reasoning/physical world	-		-	YES
Music	-	-	-	YES

Visual arts	-	-	-	YES
Physical activity	-	-	-	YES

Other subjects taught	social-emotional skills development and resiliancy			n/a

Director's Comments

Alive uses The Creative Curriculum, Al's Pals, R is For Rainbow, and Handwriting Without Tears; we use a centers-based structure for our learning environments; children have the opportunity each day to work in small groups, individually, and in large groups

Quality of Teaching

Director's Comments on Individualized Teaching

Individualized Teaching

Description of how teachers work with children who are
"behind," "excelling" or "different" from the majority of students

teachers observe children closely and keep anecdotal recordings in each of 32 skill areas; this information is used to assist in planning each week's activities; children also work in small groups of 2-4 with the teacher to develop specific literacy and math skills

Home School Connection

Director's Comments

Parents are invited to visit their child's classroom at any time; Alive conducts monthly Prent Circle meetings on Wednesday evenings; each fall the director presents a workshop on "The Gift of Literacy" in which each family is provided a set of books and materials (such as alphabet match-ups, a set of magnet letters, a nursery rhyme CD) and provided instruction on how to help their child use these materials to develop literacy skills essential for success in kindergarten; likewise, a similiar workshop is offered to provide parents with materials and ideas to help their child develop math and science skills; parent-teacher conferences are conducted in the fall and again in the spring; Alive's Family Support Worker provides access to many community resources, based on each family's needs.

Separation

Beginning of the year separation is handled through:
- Pre-entry meetings with parents at school
- Parents in classroom early on
- Abbreviated schedule at start of school year

Discipline, Health and Safety

Food Allergies

- We do not allow certain foods in the classroom

- our caterer provides allergy-free meals

Medications

- We keep their medication on hand at all times

- any and all medications must be prescibed by a medical provider and can only by administered by staff certified in medication administration

Ages, Schedule & Tuition

Ages, Class Size, Days & Tuition

Ages	Class Size	Days	Tuition
From 2 years to 5 years			$195/Week
From 2 years to 5 years 60 months			$195/Week
From 3 years to --	18		$200/Week

Extended Care

- This school does not have extended care

Notes on Schedule and Extended Care

Notes

we are closed on federal holidays and for the last week in August each year.

Calendar Year

School Year

Year round program

Application & Admissions

Application Process

Applications are accepted: After a face-to-face meeting at the school, parents must be working, in a job training program, or going to school 30 hours per week families must live or work in the city of alexandria each family must apply for a dhs subsidy

There is no wait list for upcoming school year.

Parent visits tours are: Mandatory (after application is complete)

Child interview process: child visits classroom during family orientation

Parent interview process: Director-parent

Deadline for applications: Rolling

Application fee: $0

Admissions Process

Acceptance criteria: First-come basis

Notification occurs: Immediately

Financial aid is available.

Director's Comments

Comments

familes must first be screened by the Dept of Human Services to see if they qualify for the Child Care Fee subsidy; families who do not qualify may then be eligible for Alive's sliding-fee scale, which is based on total family income and number of persons residing in the home.

Age/Child Requirements

Child must be 3 years to enroll.

Child must be potty trained to enroll.

Inquiries accepted from January 1 onwards.

Director's views on diversity:
Alive! serves working families without regard to race, color, creed, ethnicity, income, or sexual orientation; we are proud to serve a diverse group of families who live and/or work in Alexandria, VA.

Kindergarten Placement & Tips

Kindergarten Placement

Kindergartens that preschoolers from this school are now attending

MacArthur, Maury, Ramsey, John Adams, Polk