Philosophy
The philosophy of Pleasant Park is to encourage and support each child to grow to his or her full potential in all areas of development, thus enhancing a positive self-concept and a strong foundation for succeeding in life. Each child is a unique individual and should be treated as such. It is our responsibility to care for the whole child and also recognize the special characteristics that each child possesses. Their interests and goals shall be observed and activities shall be created to enhance their abilities.
It is also the philosophy of Pleasant Park to create a loving environment for each child. We realize that the first years are the most critical years to help develop a child’s self-esteem and security. Our primary mission is to provide a rich, warm and supportive environment in which the child may develop socially, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.
Hours of Operation
Pleasant Park is open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. The following holidays will be observed each year.
New Year’s Day
President’s Day
Good Friday(Staff Development Day)
Memorial Day
Fourth of July
Labor Day
Columbus Day(Staff Development Day)
Thanksgiving and the following Friday
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
If one of the above holidays falls on a Saturday, Pleasant Park will be closed the preceding Friday. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, Pleasant Park will be closed the following Monday.
Staff Development Days
According to DCFS regulations, each staff member is required to attain 15 hours of continuing education hours per year. In order to reach that requirement, Pleasant Park will be closed on Good Friday and Columbus Day each year. On those days, Pleasant Park will provide workshop opportunities for each staff member.
Vacation
Once your child has attended Pleasant Park for six months, your child is eligible for one week of vacation per year. There will be no charge for the week that your child is on vacation. Vacation days must be used in five consecutive days and must be used within the year or they will be forfeited. The child must not be in attendance during the week. Please notify the director two weeks before your vacation.
Finances
A non-refundable registration fee of $25 will be assessed upon the enrollment of your child to our child development center.
Payments are due by 5:00 p.m. of each Monday or the first day of the week your child attends. There will be a $10 fee for late payments and a $50 fee for returned checks. If an account goes unpaid for two weeks, that following Monday the parent will be asked to pay for the week’s care and all subsequent weeks care in cash or certified check until the account is current. If payment is not made, the child/children can be expelled.
There is also a $50 charge for parents arriving after the 5:00p.m. closing. At 5:15 p.m., parents will be billed another $50 and continue to get billed an additional $50 for every 15 minutes past closing time. Our license expires at 5:00p.m., therefore if children remain in the center past 5:00p.m, DCFS and the Chatham Police Department may be called to pick up any children.
Pleasant Park does provide a discount to parents with more than one child at the center. We offer a $10 family discount per week for the second and all subsequent children enrolled at the same time.
To terminate enrollment at Pleasant Park parents must give a two weeks written notice.
Fee Agreement
Parents will be responsible for payments regardless of their child’s attendance. When Pleasant Park is closed due to a holiday, or closes for any emergency, which prevents us from normal business operations such as, but not limited to; loss of electricity, loss of water, breakdown of the heating or cooling system, or inclement weather, parents are still responsible for the entire payment. This includes both part time and full time students.
Pleasant Park may close when Ball/Chatham schools close because of severe weather.
In addition, if the Ball/Chatham Schools are already scheduled to be closed for example, Christmas Break, and the weather is severe, Pleasant Park may have to close as well.
In cases of severe weather, you will always have to check News Channel 20 or the News Channel 20 Website for possible closings.
Security
Because Pleasant Park considers the safety of the children a top priority, a security system has been installed in all of the doors. The main entrance shall have a keypad entrance that the parents must enter a code in order to enter the building. Once the parent and child have entered the building, they will then sign in the child using the computer at the front desk.
Physicals
Another main goal of Pleasant Park is to keep the children as healthy as possible. In order to do this, DCFS requires that each child have a physical within six months prior to admission. The medical evaluation is valid for two years but immunizations must be kept up to date.
Illness
When a child shows symptoms of being ill, such as, but not limited to, vomiting, chronic diarrhea, and or fever of 101 degrees or higher, the parents shall be called to take the child home. If a child is sent home he/she may not return until they are symptom free for 24 hours, unless they have a doctor’s note. Any child that returns before the 24 hour time frame will be sent home. In addition, any time an illness prevents a child from participating comfortably in activities or requires more care than the teacher can provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children, the ill child will be sent home.
Head Lice
Pleasant Park follows a nit-free policy. What this means is that that even though one may have been treated for head lice, if there are any nits remaining, they will continue to be sent home until all the nits have been completely removed. All nits must be removed from the hair shaft before they will be allowed to return to Pleasant Park.
Medications
In order to insure the safety of the children, the following steps must be taken in order for the staff to administer medicine to your child.
Tell the caregiver that your child has medicine to take on that day.
Fill out a medicine slip with the name of the child, name of the medicine, amount, time needed to be given, parents signature and date.
Inform the teacher if the medicine needs to be refrigerated.
Please make sure that all non-prescription medicines are labeled with the child’s name. Also, we can only administer prescription medicine according to the label and it must be prescribed to that child (he/she cannot share medicines with siblings).
Clothing
Please make sure that your child has an extra set of clothing in their bin at all times that is season-appropriate and clearly labeled. Also, please remember that the children are here to play and should wear “play clothes”.
Toys
Although we realize how much children like to bring toys from home, we strongly discourage bringing anything except for “Show-N-Tell” days. Guns, swords or any violent toy play is never allowed. We cannot be responsible for lost or broken toys.
In addition, please do not bring in items that are of sentimental value. Pleasant Park cannot be responsible for those as well.
Discipline
At Pleasant Park, our goal is to prevent as many discipline problems as possible. There are many ways to keep children’s interests high and frustration level low, which encourages positive behaviors.
Playing, learning, friendships, and respect for others are all behaviors given positive attention while inappropriate behavior is redirected or dealt with in accordance with the incident.
When it does become necessary to manage or control the child behavior, and he/she is over 24 months old, time out shall be used. The child will sit for a short time (1 – 2 minutes) until he/she is able to talk about what happened. The teacher shall then discuss why the child needed to sit and how next time the child might handle the situation differently.
If a child continues to be unmanageable, the parent may be asked to remove the child from the center temporarily or permanently.
Aggressive Behaviors
When a child is behaving in a physically aggressive manner toward other children or the staff, the Director is to be notified immediately. The child’s parents are to be notified the same day of the behavior and how it was handled.
It is our policy to use a variety of techniques to discourage aggressive behavior depending on the age and developmental stage of the child. They include but are not limited to:
Redirection
Teaching the child how to calm him or herself
Separation from the group, logging each incident to look for stimuli, helping the child communicate their needs/wants
Shadowing the child
Logging each aggressive incident. The log should include the name of each child involved, the time of day, how it was handled, and the cause of the behavior.
If the child persists in the aggressive behavior the following are steps that may be taken:
A parent/teacher/Director meeting to discuss the problem and possible solutions
The parent may be required to shadow his or her child
The parent may be required to remove his or her child from the facility for a pre-determined amount of time (i.e. the remainder of the day, week, etc.)
The parent may be required to find permanent and alternative care for his or her child
Curriculum
In accordance with our philosophy, the staff at Pleasant Park believes in treating each child as an individual. After assessing the needs and interests of each child, the teacher, along with the support staff and Director, will help create fun and exciting activities to enhance learning.
Learning centers shall be used to help create a sense of choice and exploration for the children. Several areas, such as the block area, housekeeping area, writing area, computers, and creative choice area (coloring, cutting, ect.) are just a few examples of centers that are created to help the children grow and learn.
There are also specific routines that are followed each day to help create a sense of security and predictability for the children. An example of what would be calendar time each day. The children enjoy the repetition of counting the days of the week and months of the year.
Through all activities at our center, there are several universal objectives;
To help create security and self – confidence in each child.
To explore learning and make it as fun and exciting for every child
To create the ability to problem solve
To develop fine motor and gross motor skills.
To create an environment where affectionate relationships with peers and teachers.
To allow children to make choices and experience the consequences of personal decisions.
Encourage children to make good health and safety choices.
To help children distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Develop a concern for the rights and well being of others.
Develop an appreciation that everyone has his/her own unique characteristic that makes each person different.
Emergency Medical Care
In the event that a child under the care of Pleasant Park is injured, the following steps will be taken:
If the injury is life threatening, 911 will be called immediately. If first aid is necessary, proper procedures to treat the injury shall begin. In the event of any injury requiring medical attention, the parents will be notified according to the telephone numbers provided for this purpose.
Meals and Snacks
Pleasant Park will provide a hot lunch everyday, as well as a morning snack and afternoon snack. We do ask that the children be fed breakfast before arriving at the center, as snack will not be served until 8:30 a.m. Pleasant Park will have a certified food sanitation manager on site at all times that food is being prepared and served. The facilities used for preparing food at Pleasant Park has been inspected and approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health. All children must be served the same meals with the exception of any children with allergies. All children with allergies must have a physicians note on file with allergies listed.
Outside food is not allowed in this center, unless it is a special occasion. Any food that is brought into this center, must be store bought and pre-packaged and therefore, cooked in a kitchen that is approved through the Illinois Department of Public Health. No homemade snacks are allowed in the center.
Open Door Policy
Pleasant Park is open to children of all faiths, beliefs and backgrounds. As such, no formal religious observance or instruction shall be provided.
Pleasant Park also has an open door policy for parents, who are welcome into our center at any time during the day to observe or visit in their child’s classroom. Parents are also encouraged to communicate with teachers and administration any requests or concerns that they may have.
It is our duty to strive to meet the expectations and level of care that parents expect. However, the administration and staff at Pleasant Park will not tolerate threatening mannerisms, inappropriate comments, verbal abuse or profanity from any parents. If any of these actions occur, it may be grounds for immediate termination of the child/children’s enrollment.
Privacy Statement
All children and family information obtained by the center is confidential and will not be released to anyone outside of the center without prior written consent.
We strive to create a safe and healthy environment for all children and we appreciate your contribution to continue to make Pleasant Park an outstanding center.
