Ashland Community Preschool

What does "Montessori" mean? Please click "About Montessori" above to read more about The Montessori Method.
	What does "cooperative" mean? The Preschool largely runs on the power of the families enrolled. Each child enrolled in The Ashland Community Preschool must be associated with a “working parent.” This person could be a mother, father, grandparent, nanny – anyone associated with that child can be the working parent. A child could have more than one working parent. But each working parent is required to fulfill certain requirements of the cooperative including, but not limited to, training hours, CPR certification, TB testing, and background checks. The working parent works at the school between one and three times a month – averaging 12 times a year. The responsibilities that each family undertakes are necessary to make the school run. We all work at it and we all make it the best school for our children.
Is your school affiliated with a religion? The Ashland Community Preschool is not affiliated with any religion. Ashland Community Preschool admits students of any race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin in administration of the educational policies, admissions policies, and other school administered programs.
	How long has ACP existed? The Ashland Community Preschool started in the early 1970s as a playgroup where families took turns watching the children, much like a “Mom’s Day Out” program. Today we are a state licensed, organized, Montessori based preschool.
What are the minimum age requirements to enter the school? A child must be at least 33 months to enter the school and at least 45 months to join the Monday/Wednesday/Friday class. Who provides snacks and lunches? The Ashland Community Preschool provides a healthy snack and drink for the children every day. Families are responsible for sending a nutritious lunch and drink with their child.

How are food allergies addressed? When your child enrolls at our school, you will complete a form to describe the specifics of any allergies and what actions need to be taken in the event of an exposure. We work with parents of an allergy-prone child individually to come up with an individual plan for the school year. The plan will change from year to year to meet the specific needs of our students. Because each child brings his or her own lunch to school, our first line of defense is to encourage our students to refrain from sharing foods with their friends. Should an allergy be more severe, we might create a lunch table where that food is not permitted, or even disallow certain foods from entering the school. Our snack schedule takes into account any food allergies that parents have noted, and posting our snack schedule in advance allows the parent of an allergy prone child the opportunity to send in an alternate snack for their own child if they prefer. In addition, our Directress, Mrs. Parks, is certified to administer provided medications provided by the parent or an epi-pen in the event that it is necessary.
	Can children wear pull-ups? No. Students at Ashland Community Preschool must be fully toilet trained and in cotton underwear. Of course, we do expect that there will be an occasional accident, and we will keep on hand a complete set of your child's clothing should they need to change for any reason.
What is a typical day at ACP? Children arrive at 9am. They do a morning work until 9:15, after which is their morning Circle Time. From 9:45 until almost 11am the children have Montessori Work Time, which allows them to move about the classroom freely, choosing what they'd like to do. They can choose from many Montessori works, the art table, easels, computers and snack (which is available to each child once each morning). By 11am the children are on the playground, unless it's raining or below 32 degrees. At 11:30am the children are back in the classroom and preparing to have lunch. After lunch, they have afternoon Circle Time with Music and Movement. At 1pm the students are dismissed, and in the MWF class the Kindergarten Prep instruction continues until 2pm for those enrolled.
	What are the requirements of a working parent? We depend on our parents to make our school the great place it is; as such, there are certain expectations of our parent volunteers, which are outlined below: Parents rotate working in the classroom alongside our Directress. Usually, a parent will work in the classroom an average of one and a half times per month. Working parents arrive about 15 minutes early to help set up, then monitor the students and assist the Directress throughout the day, and finally clean up at the end of the school day. Co-op meetings are held monthly. The meetings include monthly training and a business meeting that provides every family with a voice in the co-op structure. These meetings provide the easiest opportunity to fulfill your training requirement (see the "co-operative" question above), and also allow you to keep tabs on what is happening with the school, from fundraising, to enrollment, to upcoming events. Each family serves on one school committee (hospitality, field trip, etc.) and helps plan one class party during the school year. There are usually at least two and up to four people on any committee / party assignment, who work together to plan events.
Can I take a tour of the school? Of course! We encourage you to come see our preschool! Please get in touch by clicking the Contact Us link above, or by calling at (804) 798-0409. Our enrollment officer will contact you about setting a time to come by. Can my child come with me to see the school? Absolutely! Your child is the one who will be attending the school, so we want your child to see it. And since you know your child best, by bringing your child with you to explore our school and meet our Directress, you will get an immediate sense of how great a fit it is.

In addition to tuition, what other fees am I responsible for? In addition to the tuition, which is due at the first of each month, there is an annual $40 registration fee per child. This fee is nonrefundable and due at the time of registration. A $50 activity fee per child is paid before the beginning of the school year for the monthly activities such as field trips, etc. A background check fee of $21 per family is also due before the beginning of the school year. Each family is responsible for raising or contributing $60 toward their fundraising goal annually. Three fundraisers are held throughout the school year to help families achieve this goal.
	How do you keep your tuition so low? We are a cooperative because we want to be actively involved in our children's educational experience and we want to keep our costs down. To that end we have a number of fundraisers throughout the year and we require the participation of parents in the classroom as assistants on a regular basis.
What is the student : adult ratio? Enrollment is limited to 16 children in the two-day class and 18 children in the three-day class. Each class is overseen by the Directress and two working parents.
	Can I bring my younger child with me when I am the working parent? Yes you can! The Ashland Community Preschool is completely family-friendly. You will need to supervise your additional child as well as take care of your working parent duties, but we believe all the children benefit from our family-friendly atmosphere.

The Ashland Community Preschool -- 500 South Center Street Ashland VA 23005 -- (804) 798-0409