School Policies: Creating a Secure & Supportive Environment for Your Child

Applications for enrollment are considered without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law; and without regard to a parent or guardian's race, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, gender, pregnancy, or disability.

Our focus is on what the holiday means, i.e., family togetherness and the joy of giving and caring for one another. Families are welcome to share their holiday traditions with us. Sign-up sheets will be posted for special events for volunteers, supplies, and special snacks.

We enjoy celebrating your child's birthday at the school by making a birthday cake. We do encourage the parent to bring your child's favorite nutritious treat to help celebrate. All food should be labeled with your child's first and last name. The teacher will explain the guidelines for the event and provide you with the number of children in your child's classroom. For information about bringing food for birthday and classroom parties, please make sure to review the “Food at Garden Ridge Prep. School” section. Food must adhere to our nut-free policy.

Because a child needs regular outdoor physical activity, please be sure to provide appropriate shoes for outdoor play and a coat for seasonal changes. Drawstrings on the hood and neck of jackets, sweatshirts, and coats could become hazardous if they caught on an object. If a child wears an item with a neckline drawstring, we ask that you please remove them or sew a seam through the drawstring at the middle of the hood or neck so they cannot be pulled.

Keep in mind activities, such as painting and playing in and outdoors, when dressing your child. Your child should wear clothing that is washable and adaptable to food spills, paint, and water. Names should be placed on favorite clothing in case it becomes lost. Each child is assigned a designated space for extra clothing. Always keep one properly labeled extra set of clothing at the center in case of accidents, regardless of the child's age.

WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICES, SUCH AS IPADS, CELL PHONES, OR ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC GAMES. PLEASE DO NOT LET YOUR CHILD BRING THESE ITEMS TO THE CENTER. THEY MAY BE DAMAGED OR STOLEN.

We cannot replace lost or broken articles. We encourage your child to leave family heirlooms, valuables, books, games, electronic devices, and money at home. If your child's classroom is having a special event, such as show and tell, please label your child's item properly with his or her name, and it should be taken home at the end of the day. Guns and war toys are not considered appropriate tools for learning and may not be brought to the center.

Except on rainy days or in extreme cold or hot weather, children go outside EVERY DAY and should come to school appropriately prepared (jackets, hats, mittens, boots, snow pants). If you do not feel your child is well enough to be outside, he/she should not attend school that day. ALL CLOTHING SHOULD BE MARKED WITH YOUR CHILD'S NAME. Our playgrounds are protected by fencing, and playground equipment is maintained yearly and as needed. Teachers are required to report any equipment that is in need of repair and take it out of use until the repair has been made, or discard small toys and equipment that may not be able to be repaired.

WE WILL NOT HAVE OUTSIDE TIME IF THE TEMPERATURE IS ABOVE 90 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OR BELOW 50 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

It is our policy that any staff member may not make other child care arrangements for you or make an independent childcare agreement with you. If a parent does enter into an agreement with a staff member, it must be done away from the school, with the full understanding that the sitter enters the agreement and assumes all responsibility as a private citizen and not as a Garden Ridge Preparatory employee. Garden Ridge Preparatory will not be responsible for an employee's actions and errors outside of their workingplace.

Continuous biting by the same child is serious and not acceptable. Through parent involvement, we will develop a plan to correct this issue. If the biting becomes more aggressive, we may ask you to temporarily dis-enroll your child until the biting ceases. If the biting continues after the child returns, we may ask you to withdraw your child until he or she is older.

Our three-year-old program recognizes that toilet learning is a milestone that not every child meets at the same age. With that in mind, we accept children into our program that have not fully met this milestone. It is not the position of the school to teach the children toilet skills but to support the efforts made by the parents at home.

It is necessary that we keep a realistic goal in mind to allow children the time to achieve success. Upon enrolling. Parents need to understand that we expect children to be toileting successfully by the age of 3 years and 4 months. Progress will be noted and evaluated throughout the months. Provided progress is adequate and parents are working with the child at home, we will continue enrollment up to 3 years 6 months. Any child who has not achieved success by 3.6 years would have to withdraw from the program. The exception to this would be documentation of a physical or developmental delay that would keep the child from reaching this timeline.

Once you determine that your child has begun to show signs of readiness, the process is to be started at home over the weekend. If you determine that your child is ready after your home trial, you will need to discuss this with your child's teacher so you can coordinate your efforts. Below is the policy for toilet learning that must be agreed upon and signed for your child to be enrolled in the three-year-old program.

You may send extra bottles, a small security blanket, and/or a pacifier for your child. Staff will make every effort to keep track of these items but will not be held responsible if lost. When you are ready to wean your child, please communicate with your child's teacher so a consistent strategy between home and our center may be established.

Parents are expected to accompany their child into the center. The teachers are glad to assist you and your child at your drop-off time. Teachers, however, will not assume direct responsibility for your child until you are ready to walk out of the building. It is important for the teacher to keep a watchful eye on all the children in her care. You are welcome to stay for a short while and assist your child through this transition. Simply notify the classroom teacher when you are ready to leave.

We have installed a computer system that parents are required to use by logging in with a unique four-digit number, chosen at enrollment. This procedure must be done on arrival and departure. No child may be left at the center without completing the sign-in process. No child will be released from the playground. No child will be released to anyone without prior authorization. Please do not leave your child unattended or unsupervised for any reason. These policies are designed to facilitate the safety of your child. Parents are expected to assume full responsibility for their child once they enter the classroom. Do not allow your child to wander through the hallways, bathrooms, other classrooms, and/or playground.

Only the individuals listed on the Child Information Record, or on a written permission note from the parent, will be allowed to leave with a child. The staff is expected to request a picture I.D. from any unfamiliar person (including grandparents).

All changes and/or additions to the Emergency/Alternate Pick up form must be made in writing and be dated and signed. Only custodial parents have the right to make changes or additions to this form.

Parents are required to handle all business issues prior to entering their child's classroom. Parents, please do not stand and talk to the front desk while you are leaving; your child might leave the building while you are talking to the front desk person or another parent. Parents are also required to sign any incident/accident reports from the day at pick up. The classroom teacher will be able to briefly discuss the matter with you or another authorized adult at pick up. However, should you feel it necessary to have an in-depth discussion or meeting, it is most appropriate to schedule the meeting for a later date because the teacher is responsible for supervising the remaining children in the classroom. A telephone conference may be scheduled for later in the day or for the next day at nap/rest time if the parent(s) is unable during the course of the day.

Only the individuals listed on the Child Information Record, or on a written permission note from the parent, will be allowed to leave with a child. The staff is expected to request a picture I.D. from any unfamiliar person (including grandparents).

All changes and/or additions to the Emergency/Alternate Pick up form must be made in writing and be dated and signed. Only custodial parents have the right to make changes or additions to this form.

We cannot accommodate the requests of those parents that want a certain person to pick up their child on certain days and not on other days, or at certain times of the day. This is generally the case for parents who are either separated or divorced. Despite our best efforts, we cannot keep up with the pick out schedule of certain authorized people. If we see a person several times to pick up a certain child, we will not be able to keep track of whether that child is picked up on the right day or not. If this is an important factor for you, we suggest that you seek another child care center that can accommodate your need.

At enrollment, parents will be presented with an Emergency/Alternate Pick up form. Parents are encouraged to include on this form any and all persons who, in the course of events, may at one time be asked to pick up their child from Garden Ridge Prep. School. In an emergency situation, the child's parents will be called first. If they cannot be reached, staff will call the persons listed on this form until someone can be reached.

The staff of Garden Ridge Prep. School will contact local police and/or the other custodial parent should a parent appear to the staff of Garden Ridge Prep. School to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. The parent's right to immediate access does not permit the agency to deny a custodial parent access to their child even if the parent is or appears to be impaired. However, Garden Ridge Prep. School staff will delay the impaired parent as long as possible while contacting the other parent, the local police, and Child Protective Services.

Any other authorized person who attempts to pick up a child and appears to the staff of Garden Ridge Prep. School to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol will be denied access to the child. The staff of Garden Ridge Prep. School will contact the child's parents, local police, and Child Protective Services to notify them of the situation.

All changes and/or additions to the Emergency/Alternate Pick up form must be made in writing and be dated and signed. Only custodial parents have the right to make changes or additions to this form.

The school closes at 6:30 pm. We give you fifteen minutes of extra time for those occasional times that you are late or the times that you may have to have a long discussion with your child's teacher or the director. Thus, we will enforce our late pick up fee immediately at 6:45. We ask you to call us if you are going to be late. If you do call us before closing, we will waive the first five minutes of the late fee.

It does not matter at what time you get to the center. If you get to the center 30 minutes before the closing and leave fifteen minutes after closing, you will be charged a fifteen-minute late fee. If you feel it is necessary to have an in-depth discussion with your child's teacher or staff at the closing time, it is best to schedule an appointment for the next day so that we can free the staff to discuss your concerns.

If a child is left at the school beyond closing hours, and the parents fail to contact us, the following measures will be taken:

a. Contact you by phone

b. Call your designated emergency contact

c. If after 30 minutes your child is not picked up and all of our attempts to contact you or designated contacts have failed. We will contact the appropriate community authorities

Until custody has been established by a court action, one parent may not limit the other from picking up a child in our care. The center must be notified immediately of any changes in custody orders. Certified custody orders must be given to the center director. 

In cases where an enrolled child is the subject of a court order (ex… Custody Order, Restraining Order, or Protection from Abuse Order), Garden Ridge Prep. School must be provided with a certified copy of the most recent order and all amendments thereto. The orders of the court will be strictly followed unless the custodial parent(s) request a more liberal variation of the order in writing. In the case where both parents are afforded shared/joint custody by order of the court, both parents must sign the request for a more liberal interpretation of the order. In the absence of a court order on file with Garden Ridge Prep. School administration, both parents shall be afforded equal access to their child as stipulated by law.

Garden Ridge Prep. School cannot, without a court order, limit the access of one parent by request of the other parent, regardless of the reason. If a situation presents itself where one parent does not want the other parent to have access to their child, Garden Ridge Prep. School suggests that the parent keep the child with them until a court order is issued. 

 If conflicting court orders are presented, the most recently dated court order will be followed. Once presented with a Protection from Abuse Order or a Restraining Order, Garden Ridge Prep. School is obligated to follow the order for the entire period it is in effect.