Clearfield Pre-School Center

About

Preschool for 3-5 year olds who like to be active in their learning! These days, Preschool is NOT a luxury, it's a NECESSITY! Preparation is essential!

Story

Welcome to the Clearfield Preschool Center! We are so happy that you have chosen our school for your child’s preschool experience. We provide a hands-on approach to learning because we believe that a “doing” child is a “learning child.” Everything we do is built around that philosophy. Our program is one that gives each child choices within structure.
The school has been in operation since 1976 and is under the guidance of a nine member Board of Directors from the Presbyterian Church of Clearfield and the community. Currently, Mrs. Beth Shaffer serves as Director and Teacher. Also teaching is Mrs. Kiersten Grumblatt. Teaching assistants include Miss Maureen Eggers and Mrs. Cindy Demchak.
Children may attend classes two, three or five times a week depending on their age. Classes are conducted from September through May. The first class days for the 2014-2015 school year will be Tuesday, September 2 or Wednesday, September 3 (starting after the Labor Day Holiday). Children who attend preschool must be able to meet the following criteria:
1. Be potty trained and able to meet most toilet needs independently.
2. At least 3 years of age by August 31, 2014.
3. Be able to function independently within the physical limitations and boundaries of the Preschool. Child must be able to climb stairs since we are located in the second story of the church and no elevator is available.
4. It is preferable that they be able to use a pair of scissors. We do a lot of art activities which require cutting. If your child is new to cutting, start them off with Play-doh scissors and play-doh. When they get the hang of the cutting motion and can be trusted with real scissors, advance them to metal scissors.
There is a $30.00, non-refundable fee, payable at the time of registration. We will be using a portion of the registration fee to purchase a t-shirt for your child. The costs of tuition for the current school year, as set by the Board of Directors, are:
$90 per month for two classes per week
$110 per month for three classes per week
$170 per month for 5 classes per week
$205 for 3 full days per week
Fundraising efforts will enable us to maintain tuition costs at the lowest possible level, while promoting a quality program with experienced and well trained staff members. Therefore, you will be asked to participate in these fundraisers during the school year. Please do your best to participate in these since they are a vital component to providing your child with a dynamic preschool experience. Tuition, along with fundraising, are what make up our budget. No one else provides financial assistance to the Preschool.

Tuition is due by the last day of the month prior, meaning that September’s tuition is due by August 31st. There will be a grace period until the 5th of the month you are paying for. There will be a $5 late fee added to any tuition not paid by that date. To prevent consistent lateness with tuition, after 2 months of lateness (accumulated throughout entire school year), the late fee will increase to $10.
The primary goals of the program are to provide your child with an environment that will help them to:
Make a successful and happy break away from home
Learn to be a valued member of the social community by giving and taking from the social experience of attending school
Develop an interest in and a joy for learning
Develop feelings of self-confidence and security away from home
Develop self-expression, self-control, and creativity
Develop a sense of respect and responsibility for one’s self, for others, and for their material possessions and the possessions of others
We hope to discover and encourage growth in all aspects of your child’s personal development including the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual. Every child will be encouraged to develop their potential in positive and meaningful ways within our structured program. We will provide fun, educational activities that will almost “trick” your child into learning. They will have so much fun, they won’t even realize they are truly working.
Our program follows a Balanced Literacy approach to pre-reading skill development and follows the Everyday Math curriculum. Both of these are consistent with what your child will see when they enter the Clearfield Area School District. We believe that they will have an extremely smooth transition from preschool to elementary school because of this. Also, our staff is well versed in noticing any potential delay(s) that your child may be exhibiting. Early intervention is the best strategy for dealing with these delays and we work closely with the Central Intermediate Unit and their staff in the areas of speech and developmental delays. The specialists come in to our setting and provide one-on-one instruction to your child at no expense to you after assessing their needs and establishing goals to work toward throughout the year.
Those who register their child/children at this time, and pay the registration fee, may assume that the child/children will be placed in the first choice class unless notified. Places can not be held without a registration fee. Friends wishing to be in the same class because of car-pooling should note that on the registration form. Classes are filled on a first come, first served basis.
A Orientation/Open House will be held in late August. EVERYONE, EVEN IF YOUR CHILD HAS ATTENDED IN THE PAST, is urged to attend. More information will be included with your orientation packet.

Mission

The Clearfield Preschool Center is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian outreach program under the sponsorship of The Presbyterian Church of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the Preschool is to provide a positive environment and varied experiences that will allow a child to develop physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually according to his/her own abilities. Specifically we hope:
To provide experiences that allow a child to learn to be with other children in his/her own age group,
To become familiar with participating in a group setting,
To make a successful separation from the home environment,
To develop and promote an interest and joy in learning,
To develop security and a feeling of success with non-family members,
To develop self-expression
To develop self-control,
To develop creativity, and
To develop responsibility for self, others, and possessions.