We Are Getting Very Close!

Hello Everyone,

We are getting very close. I realize that the site may not look like it is nearly ready, but it really is. We want to give you an update on our progress and our plans. This is intended to be a starting point. Many of our details are still unclear. We commit to you now that we will keep you updated as we move through the process. The Waterstone Blog will continue to be our primary means of communication, but you can also reach us by email with specific questions.

Here is a brief contact list:
Issues relating to:

Christa Niven, Director- christaniven@thelittleschool.net

The building and new campus
Finances
Donations
Partnership or investment opportunities
Secondary contact for hiring
Oversight of policy and procedure creation
Oversight of staff recruiting
Marketing
Volunteer organization

Jennifer Dock, Director- jennifer@thelittleschool.net

The building and new campus
Curriculum development and implementation
Portfolio development and implementation
Oversight of staff development and training
Classroom compilations
Marketing

Wendy Vavrousek, Program Manager- wendy@thelittleschool.net

Staff development and training
Staff management
Curricular implementation
Special services creation and implementation

Joann Milano, Human Resources Manager- joann@thelittleschool.net

Staff recruiting and screening
Policy and procedure creation
Staff orientation

Mary Swanson, Admission Manager- mary@thelittleschool.net

Enrollment of new families
Collection and organization of admission materials
Primary contact for new families


If there are any questions or concerns that are not obviously captured by the above descriptions please email Christa at christaniven@thelittleschool.net

Here is an incomplete list of Frequently Asked Questions that we hope to use as a starting point for our transition conversation. Please know that we welcome any and all questions, but do ask that you read through these first.

1. When is the school going to open?
Our site superintendent has told us that we are moving along at exactly the predicted pace for this point in the project. We are going to begin to landscape and paint in October. The site work required for our Temporary Certificate of Occupancy includes asphalt and gravel for the driveway. Those pieces have been ordered and should be done in the coming weeks. As long as we stay on track we will have the building ready to apply for final Certificate of Occupancy on December 1. We are estimating that we will need two weeks to move all of the materials into place before we are ready to ask our day care licensing person to license us to open. REMEMBER- EVERY TOY AND BLOCK MUST BE IN PLACE BEFORE WE WILL RECEIVE DAY CARE LICENSING PERMISSION TO OPEN. It is not the case that we can paint the walls and open the doors. Any and all help will be most welcome once we arrive at moving weekend.

2. Have you hired all of the new teachers yet?
We are very actively hiring teachers right now. Our current staff of fifteen will be spread throughout the building so that one of our current teachers will (most likely) be in each of our eleven new classrooms. We are receiving incredible resumes and are beginning to make final hiring decisions. This economy has provided us a truly top notch pool to choose from. Please see the August 7, 2009 Waterstone Blog Glimpse for more information about our hiring process.

Mr. Sean and Ms. Rachel will be staying on in the half-day program and will be working closely with the other teachers hired for the half-day program.

3. When will you finalize all of the hiring?
We will have all of the staff hired by November 1, 2009.

4. How will the teams be configured?
We will be bringing the staff together for a series of team meetings in November. We will be spending time getting to know each other in order to find the best fit. The great news is that all of our candidates (without exception) are very well educated and trained folks with great prior experience so we have some flexibility in allowing teams to come together based on personality AS WELL AS best age group fit.

5. Who will my child's teacher be?
The honest answer is that we do not know this yet. We won't know how the children will be placed into groups until two things happen:
1. All of the children need to be enrolled- we still have a limited number of openings available in all enrollment categories (full-day, half-day, full-week, part-week).
2. All of the teaching teams have to be configured. Once we have completed both of the tasks we will look at each child individually in order to find the best classroom AND teacher fit.

6. Will my currently enrolled child stay with their current teachers?
The current teaching teams will be broken up as the assistant and co-teachers take on lead and co positions. We will do EVERYTHING possible to keep our current children with at least one of their teachers. We understand that the parents want this as much as the teachers do. We are starting to shed some tears around TLS over the changes to come. While that is true, we are very much looking forward to inviting our new staff and children to join us. There will be lots of opportunities for children t continue to visit with their prior teams but every effort will be made to keep children and current teachers together whenever possible.

7. What is going on with the half-day program?
The half-day program is off to a great start. The children are adorable and we love having them with us. The classrooms are small, but so is the group size and the teachers are visiting the full-day classrooms and all of the playgrounds every day. This is a temporary solution that we think has been a tremendous success thus far.

We will move the half-day children into the full-day classrooms as soon as the Waterstone Campus opens. The broad age groupings currently in place will be spread a little as we move into the new classrooms. Those groupings will also be decided after we have completed enrollment and hiring.

8. Is there anything that I can do to help?
Yes, we have many upcoming events that will require a whole lot of help.

October: We will be spending most weekends at the new school installing our landscaping.

November: We will be painting and installing hardware, moving materials from the storage lockers to the new campus, assembling IKEA chairs and book shelves, and preparing the playgrounds. We have had several of our parent-artists volunteer to help us sand and refinish tables and chests as well as add the creative details that will make our building feel like our school. There is an awful lot to do so if you have an idea or a specific creative skill and would like to help please contact Christa to volunteer.

December: We will be putting materials on shelves and assembling centers in all of the classrooms. This will be a HUGE project and all forms of assistance will be more than greatly appreciated.

9. Will there be time for my child to meet their teachers prior to the first day?
Please see the Open House Invitation on the school website at http://www.thelittleschool.net/. We are very aware that we are going to be incredibly busy and pressed for time in December. While that is true, it is very important for us to provide opportunities to have the children see their new space. We will be working to provide additional opportunities. Please watch the blog.