ATTENDANCE

Please bring your child to school every day. Consistent attendance in preschool will help make your child’s adjustment to school easier and also make him/her feel more a part of the class. The habit of attending school every day will help prepare your child for the years of schooling he/she will need to ensure success in life. Review our illness policy and use your judgment as to whether or not your child needs to stay home. Use the school calendar to plan your vacations; take your vacations when your child has no school. Please call your Family Assistant if your child will be absent. Our grant requires us to maintain 95% attendance daily. If your child has an unexcused absence, your Family Assistant will contact you to see if we can be of assistance.

PUNCTUALITY

Bringing your child to school on time is important because your child is learning from the time he/she walks into the classroom until dismissal time. It is a mandated policy that all children engage in a family-style meal upon arrival at school. This is one of the reasons punctuality is so important. A child is considered late if he/she arrives 16 minutes after the scheduled arrival time (8:31 AM). If you know that your child will be arriving late, please call the school and let your Family Assistant know.

Picking up your child late can have a devastating effect on the well-being and self-esteem. Children do not understand why they have to stay behind while all of their peers are going home. Please be on time for dismissal, which starts at 3:15 PM.

If you have escorts, make sure they are on your contact list and make sure they are aware of the arrival and pick-up times.

ILLNESS

As much as we stress consistent attendance, we must also be concerned about good health habits. Therefore, if your child is ill, we ask that you keep him/her home. This will provide for a quicker recovery for your child and prevent the spread of illness to other children and staff. Most childhood illnesses are contagious. If your child contracts any communicable disease, please notify your Family Assistant immediately. The information will be handled in a confidential manner, and you may help prevent another child from contracting the disease. 

If your child becomes ill while in school, you will be called to pick up your child. Upon departure, you will be asked to sign a Health Concern Notice indicating the type of illness, the person who picked the child up and the time of departure. If the notice states that your child needs a doctor’s note in order to return to school, you must return the notice to the school with the doctor’s signature AND stamp.

If a doctor’s note is required, it must be signed, dated and stamped. If at all possible, the doctor should state the nature of the illness. The date of return must be noted.

EXTENDED ABSENCE

If your child is absent for 3 or more days, a doctor’s note is required. If the absence is for a reason other than illness, prior notice must be given to your Family Assistant. A written note must be submitted and be placed in your child’s file upon the child’s return to school. This is mandated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

RESPECT

We respect you. Please respect our staff.

Verbal or physical abuse towards our staff (or anyone on CECD premises) will not be tolerated under ANY circumstances. If anyone displays such behavior, he/she will be asked to leave immediately.