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Children’s School Program Portfolio 2008

The Children’s School Program Portfolio consists of • this overview document, • an overview notebook with copies of the key documents referenced in the overview, • a plastic file box with files for each of the steps in our self-study and self-assessment process (including the actual surveys, observation forms, etc.), • a plastic file box with folders for each of the required program portfolio entries, • a set of notebooks with more detailed information than can easily fit in the portfolio (e.g., school’s annual report to Carnegie Mellon, complete staff and family handbooks, playground inspector report, etc.), and • a laptop computer set to our school web site.

We suggest that you start with the overview document and notebook and then follow the references listed to see additional information included in the boxes or additional notebooks as necessary. General explanations are typed in italics. Document references and portfolio cross-references are typed in black, while descriptions of actual documents in the files for each standard are typed in blue. Self-Assessment data are listed in red (with data sheets in the overview notebook and actual forms in the self-study / self-assessment file box). Handbook pages are listed in the overview and NAEYC code numbers are included in the handbooks for easy location of items on the pages (but copies are also included in the files with specific sections highlighted in pink). Note that the complete Family Handbook is part of the Staff Handbook, so policies listed in the Family Handbook are not repeated separately in the Staff Handbook.

NOTE to Early Childhood Programs utilizing the Children’s School Labels and Program Portfolio Item list:

The label organization was taken from the Checklist By Standard document provided by NAEYC, but the wording of that NAEYC document is much more global than the actual language of the standards. We clarified the labels where practical, but the Portfolio Item List has more detail for each item. In many cases, however, there is MUCH more detail in the actual standards books about what needs to be included in a policy. For example, the label for 4.E.02, 06 & 07 is treated as one category by the NAEYC Checklist but has three quite separate ideas in the book of standards and related criteria, with a total of 8 particular bullet points. Be sure to cover each sentence and bullet point from the latter document! Apparently, both complete coverage and precise wording matter!

Children’s School Program Portfolio Entries

Standard 2: Curriculum

2.A. Curriculum: Essential Characteristics

01 Written statement of philosophy and curriculum framework

• Ed Philosophy StatementStaff Handbook p. 4Family Handbook p. 3Web Site under Program – Our Unique Approach

• Continuum of Developmental Objectives (3 years / 6 domains)Full set of objectives with NAEYC codesStaff Handbook p. 14 (overview)

Plus in the Curriculum & Assessment Section Family Handbook p. 8 (overview only)Web Site under Program – Our Unique Approach

• Sample Director’s Corner articles using framework (e.g., samples from seminars we offer re: conferences, summer, play, plus current examples from 2007 or 2008 newsletters on dramatic play and games)

02 Curriculum framework as focus for planning but adaptable03 Curriculum guides intentional implementation of learning

opportunities consistent with program goals04 Curriculum reflects responsiveness to diversity

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 92% (2.A.04)• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100% (2.A.04)• Curriculum and Assessment Statement

Staff Handbook p. 14-18Family Handbook p. 8-12Web Site under Program – Our Unique Approach

• Pages from prospective parent booklet re: “Approaches to Meeting Basic Learning Goals”

• Team Planning Overview for Sample Thematic Units (with diversity sections highlighted)

• Handouts from Thematic Unit Workshop 8/07 (red pocket folder)

(with diversity sections highlighted)• Bird / Carver presentation from NALS ’07 re: Music and Games:

Building Skills in All Developmental Domains via Early Childhood Investigations

• Bird / Hancock presentation from PAEYC ‘06 re: Using Structures in the Environment to Scaffold Development and Theme Learning

• Sample Thematic Unit Books are available in the Professional Development Room and Current Thematic Unit Plans are in Classroom Portfolios under 2.A.10

05 Goals & objectives guide assessment

• Curriculum and Assessment StatementStaff Handbook p. 14-18 (see 2.A.02-04)Family Handbook p. 8-12 (see 2.A.02-04)Web Site under Program – Our Unique Approach

• Director’s Corner re: Assessment • Fall & Spring Conference Forms for 3’s, 4’s, and K

also in Staff Handbook Curriculum & Assessment Section(See 4.A.01-03)

06 Curriculum guides teachers to integrate assessment info to support individualized learning

• Curriculum and Assessment StatementStaff Handbook p. 14-18 (see 2.A.02-04)Family Handbook p. 8-12 (see 2.A.02-04)Web Site under Program – Our Unique Approach

• Team Planning Overview for Sample Units (See 2.A.02-04)• Sample completed assessment reports can be found in child files.

2.B. Areas of Development: Social-Emotional Development - No required PP entries

2.C. Areas of Development: Physical Development - No required PP entries

2.D. Areas of Development: Language Development

01 Opportunities for language acquisition align with program philosophy, consider family and community perspectives (including linkages with community agencies that offer culturally and linguistically appropriate services for families served)

• Developmental Objectives re: Communication (See 2.A.01)• Section on Communication from prospective parent booklet re:

“Approaches to Meeting Basic Learning Goals” (See 2.A.02-04)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 82% • Director’s Corner re: Literacy from 2/01 but highlights our

perspective on literacy• Hancock / Perovich presentation for Beginning with Books

Conference (9/07)• NAEYC handout re: Literacy Development (shared with families)• Sample newsletter items with community connections related to

literacy• Sample announcement of a literacy program at the local library, a

program that was user tested with our children in the kindergarten (i.e., we’re involved in the research prior to the products being available in the community)

• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 45% (only asked about the aspect of the standard related to incorporating the home language of the child)

2.E. Curriculum Content Area for Cognitive Development: Early Literacy – No required PP entries

2.F. Curriculum Content Area for Cognitive Development: Early Math - No required PP entries

2.G. Curriculum Content Area for Cognitive Development: Science - No required PP entries

2.H. Curriculum Content Area for Cognitive Development: Technology - No

required PP entries

2.I. Does not exist

2.J. Curriculum Content Area for Cognitive Development: Creative Expression and Appreciation for the Arts - No required PP entries

2.K. Curriculum Content Area for Cognitive Development: Health and Safety - No required PP entries

2.L. Curriculum Content Area for Cognitive Development: Social Studies - No required PP entries


Standard 3: Teaching

3.A. Designing Enriched Learning Environments - No required PP entries

3.B. Creating Caring Communities for Learning - No required PP entries

3.C. Supervising Children (REQUIRED)

04 / 05 Supervision Protocol for Preschool & Kindergarten

• Supervision Protocol - Staff Handbook p. 21-24 • Family Handbook p. 22

3.D. Using Time, Grouping, and Routines to Achieve Learning Goals - No required PP entries

07 Snack time conversation, with staff sitting & eating with children(Preschool Only)

• Staff members always promote conversation during snack and lunch times. Whenever possible, staff members sit with children, but our short time frame for snack and lunch often means that staff members are up replenishing food and drink and/or helping children open items, clean spills, etc. During our June camp, the time frame for lunch is longer, so staff members do bring their own lunch and eat with the children.

• The Children’s School does not serve meals on a routine basis. Children in the kindergarten and extended morning programs bring their own lunches.There are occasions when a class will cook a special meal as

part of a theme exploration. It may then be served buffet style or family style.

3.E. Responding to Children’s Interests and Needs - No required PP entries

3.F. Making Learning Meaningful for All Children

01 Curriculum as flexible framework for planning & teaching

• See Items in 2.A.01-06

03 Working with families to help children participate successfully when professional values and practices differ from family values and practices

• Office Roles document from October 2007 Newsletter with family issues highlighted

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 84% • Family Handbook re: Intro Letter (p. 1), Interaction guidelines (p. 6),

Parents as Partners (p. 7) • Family Photos displayed at child level in greeting / dismissal area so

everyone feels welcome.• Newsletter items re: holidays, etc. that relate to cultural differences • Invitations for families to share traditions and preferences via our

whole school thematic units (most recently Games and Art & Artists) promote interest and value in differences. See 7.A.03 for the documents.

3.G. Using Instruction to Deepen Children’s Understanding and Build Their Skills and Knowledge - No required PP entries


Standard 4: Assessment

4.A. Creating an Assessment Plan

01 Assessments consistent with the program philosophy and curriculum are integral to program to support learning via a variety of methods

02 Written plan for assessment re: procedures, confidentiality, and family involvement

03 Written plan for assessment re: purposes and uses of results

• Educational Philosophy describes alignment of Goals -> Program -> Assessment (See 2.A.01)

• Assessment Statement Staff Handbook, p. 16, see 4.B for p. 17&18)Family Handbook, p. 9-13

• August 2007 Seminar Plan / Notes re: Assessment (note that it was the first time we used the electronic white board). We also did a seminar with one of the Pittsburgh Public School developmental specialists to learn how to conduct their broad screening.• Assessment Forms for 3’s, 4’s, and K (Fall & Spring) – all formatting relates to developmental objective domains

4.B. Using Appropriate Assessment Methods

01 Methods are varied, sensitive to diversity, meaningful and accurate, and used in familiar settings

• Assessment Procedures (Staff Handbook p. 17ff)• Family Handbook p. 10ff

03 Use of norm-references / standardized tests

• Assessment Plan (Staff Handbook p. 18) describes combination of informal and formal assessments, without use of standardized tests (see 4.B.01)

• Staff Handbook Behavior Management Guidelines (p. 27) indicates use of the TABS (see below) for children with persistent challenging behaviors

04 Evaluation of published instruments re: standardization, scoring, reliability, validity, etc.

• For the Temperament and Atypical Behavior Scale (TABS) Assessment (used for screening of children with persistent behavior issues), the Director reviewed manual chapters 4 & 5 on TABS development and technical adequacy and the staff had a seminar with representative of the development team.

• Copy of the TABS form we use, together with handout from our initial training seminar re: its use.

05 Staff-developed assessment methods aligned with goals, accurate, appropriate, meaningful, and helpful for planning

06 Process for ensuring that staff share understanding of purpose, value, and uses of assessment and can explain them to others

• See 4.A• Family Handbook p. 12• Email to staff re: change in forms to align with NAEYC requirements• Family Self-Assessment Survey 96% (4.B.06)• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100% (4.B.06)

• Completed Assessment Forms can be viewed in the Child Files• New Teachers are oriented to assessments when hired and mentored by co-teachers and director when completing assessments for the first time.• Director coaches all teachers on writing challenging assessments (typically for children with special needs), which often involves modifying the form (e.g., to include a level of support needed for each item when a child has a TSS) – Samples can be pulled from child files by the Director upon request.• Periodic Seminars on topics related to assessment, plus bi-annual review of assessment checklists to improve them• Most recent whole staff discussion was August 2007 (see description in 4.A.01-03)

4.C. Identifying Children’s Interests and Needs and Describing Children’s Progress

01 EMERGING - Broad developmental screening using established instrument, within three months, with plan for evaluating effectiveness & using results to make referrals

• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 82%

• We currently do no routine, standardized screening of all children (though our developmental objectives and related conference forms are more thorough than most screening instruments available).

• For many years, we have made arrangements to have vision and hearing / language screenings to be done at our school, though they are conducted by professionals with the permission of parents. Most parents choose to participate, especially after teachers who have concerns encourage them to do so, and several children each year get referred for further diagnostics and treatment.

• Family Handbook p. 22 re: vision / hearing & speech screening

• In 2003, we began using items from the TABS assessment (see above) for screening of children with consistent behavior issues. We do not use the actual TABS forms because of the alarming language that may discourage parents from noting all of the behaviors of concern. Though it has been used in relatively few cases so far, we have found it a helpful tool for focusing discussions of children’s needs and for alerting parents to the need for further diagnostics and treatment.

• At this time, we have chosen not to use a standardized Developmental Screening instrument because we have not been able to locate one instrument that covers all of the categories listed in this standard (health status, sensory, language, cognitive, gross-motor, fine-motor, and social-emotional), even in the NAEYC book on developmental screening. As noted above, the informal assessment and professional judgments used to prepare for our November conferences have been effective so far in terms of providing the impetus necessary for referrals. In 2007, staff members participated

in training for the Meisels Developmental Screening so that we can use it if we sense a need for more quantitative indicators of the need for referral. Samples of conference reports with specific referrals can be pulled by the Director upon request.

4.D. Adapting Curriculum, Individualizing Teaching, and Informing Program Development

02 EMERGING – Weekly meetings to interpret and use assessment results to inform teaching practice

• Assessment plan (see 4.A)• Professional development plan for 2007-08 and Sample staff memos to show scheduled meetings • Conference preparation schedule samples to show span of time for drafting written conference forms and getting feedback


4.E. Communicating with Families and Involving Families in the Assessment Process

02 Families provided verbal or written info quarterly and written reports biannually

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 86% (all non-yes responses were from families in the program for only 3 months)• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

• Written and face-to-face conferences are conducted in November for all ages, February for kindergarten, and April for preschool. Verbal / email interaction occurs on an as needed basis throughout the year. Staff participate in IEP and interagency meetings for children with special needs according to the timetable of the relevant partner agencies (see sample invitation).

• During the 2007-2008 year, teachers added two rounds of parent phone calls to touch base with any parents with whom they had not recently had significant conversations about issues relating to their particular child. See Professional Development Plan in 4.D.02 for dates 10/5, 2/8, and 4/18.

• Hancock presentation re: conferencing with parents (most recently done at the Ellis School event for preschool directors)

06 Families provided with info re: choice, training, use, scoring, and interpretation of screening and assessment methods

• Director’s Article re: Assessment (See 2.A.05)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 98% • Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%• School Choice Brown Bag Handout (also available to non-attending

families)

07 EMERGING – Explanation of Confidentiality for Families

• Assessment Plan – Confidentiality Section (Staff Handbook p. 12)• Family Handbook p. 12• Family Self-Assessment Survey 85%

• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 91%• CMU HIPAA Questions & Answers• Email description of choice not to distribute electronic copies of

photos from school re: confidentiality


Standard 5: Health

5.A. Promoting and Protecting Children’s Health and Controlling Infectious Disease

02 EMERGING - Written agreement with health consultant, reports of suggestions and evidence of related improvements

• Contract with Health Consultant, Gail Woomer• Sample Email from Health Consultant• Report from 10/11/07 evaluation• Response to report re: improvements (written by Assistant Director)

03 Pediatric First Aid / Rescue Breathing (REQUIRED)

• All Children’s School staff members take Pediatric CPR & First Aid every fall. The certified instructor is a former Children’s School parent who works as an Emergency Room nurse at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. She tailors the instruction to our unique context. • Staff Handbook p.19• Family Handbook p. 21• Letter from trainer re: content of course• Copies of staff first aid training cards

(most from 9/07, two from 9/06)• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

04 Sick Child Policy

• Family Handbook p. 23-24 re: staff and family responsibility • Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 91%

05 Policy re: communicable disease notification, plus evidence of regular health updates

• Family Handbook p. 23-24 (See 5.A.04)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 99%

• Cover pages of resource books re: disease characteristics• Info on Healthy Child Care PA

(email update service to which we subscribe)• Sample health alerts / notices to our parents

07 Outdoor Health & Safety Policy re: cold, heat, sun, insects

• Staff Handbook p. 21• Family Handbook p. 21• Chart re: safe temperatures (what’s too cold, what’s too hot)• Sample school closure / delay notice

08 Diapering Policy & Procedures

• Staff Handbook p. 23• Photographs of changing table & procedures diagram

09 Handwashing Policy & Procedures

• Staff Handbook p. 19, 22• Photographs of diagram by sinks• Family Handbook p. 22

10 EMERGING – Water Play Health & Safety

• Staff Handbook p. 25

11 Medication Policy & Procedures

• Family Handbook p. 23 & 24• Photograph of locked Medication cabinet & log, with 5 rights listed• Medication Authorization Form• Allergy Notification Form

16 Oral Health Policy & Procedures

• Not applicable because part-day program with at most one meal

5.B. Ensuring Children’s Nutritional Well-Being

01 Food preparation, service, and storage procedures follow USDA guidelines

• Staff Handbook p. 25• We voluntarily follow all of the food related procedures as specified by the DPW regulations for child care licensing. See documents in 10.B.04 (numbers 107, 108, 133, 161-166).

02 EMERGING – Policies re: foods brought from home

• Family Handbook p. 19 indicates that we now make birthday snacks at school rather than permitting them to be brought from home.• Family Self-Assessment Survey 91%

03 Responses to recommendations of health consultant re: food

• See report in 5.A.02• The only suggestions related to food were related to getting a better table cleaning solution and that the sweeping after meals was not observed.

07 Policies re: liquids hotter than 110° F kept out of children’s reach

• Staff Handbook p. 25• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

14 Policies re: food choking hazards


15 Written menus posted, distributed, and on-file for health consultant

• Family Handbook p. 17• Snack menus are included in the school’s monthly newsletter and posted in the kitchen and on the bulletin board outside the office (photo & samples for 2007-08).

• Cooking menus are developed during lesson planning time eachweek and are posted in the kitchen and on the family bulletin boardeach Monday(photo & samples for 2007-08).

16 Snack / Meals at regular times at least 2 hours apart but not more than 3

• Daily Schedules with Snack and Lunch times highlighted

5.C. Maintaining a Healthful Environment

• CMU Policy re: Environmental Health & Safety Authorization• “Lifelines” newsletters from EHS• Family Handbook p. 21 re: staff responsibility

01 Cleaning and sanitizing frequency; Ventilation

• Staff Handbook p. 25ff• CMU Green Housekeeping Program Statement• CPS Schedule of Cleaning

02 Procedures for Standard Precautions


03 Toy Washing


04 Allergy Policy & Procedures

• Staff Handbook p. 23• Family Handbook p. 23-24

05 Pet / Animal Policy & Procedures

• Staff Handbook p. 26• Classroom Pet request re: turtles from Kindergarten


Standard 6: Teachers

6.A. Preparation, Knowledge, and Skills of Teaching Staff

• Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments

01 Staff knows and uses ethical guidelines

• Staff Handbook p. 12• NAEYC Ethics Brochure in staff handbook & part of orientation• Signed statements of commitment to ethical conduct

03 Initial Staff Orientation Content

• Carnegie Mellon Orientation Description for Managers to follow• Orientation overview for newest employee – Administrative

Coordinator (Lauria-Smith, 8/07)• Staff Handbook p. 31• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 96%

04 Orientation Content for substitutes, volunteers, and other adults who participate regularly in the program

• Support Staff Handbook• Video Training Overview & Worksheets for Student Employees• Lesson Plan for first class with Undergraduate Interns

6.B. Teachers’ Dispositions and Professional Commitment - No required PP entries


Standard 7: Families

7.A. Knowing and Understanding the Program’s Families

Staff and Family Handbooks include Interactions Guidelines, etc.• Family Handbook p. 5 (Interaction Guidelines) and 6-7 (Parents as

Partners)• Staff Handbook p. 6-9 (Interaction Guidelines, with separate

sections for staff-child and staff-family)

01 Staff training re: diversity

• Interaction Guidelines section re: Diversity (Staff Handbook p. 6-7)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 98% • 2007-08 Staff Book Discussion Series re: Starting Small: Teaching

Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades (Children’s School discussion guide produced for this book)

• See Staff Files for prior training re: diversity

02 Formal and informal strategies to familiarize with families

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 86% • Rosenblum / Simpson presentation re: Connecting with Parents

from PAEYC 12/06• Enrollment Form includes family preference for addressing child,

request for info re: birthplace, occupation, hobbies & interests of

parents / guardians, information about family context, information about child’s background, special interests, discipline techniques, eating, sleeping, toileting, languages used, special fears, special needs …

• ESL Form used for families whose children do not speak English as a first language (includes a section asking parents if they need materials in another language, a translator at conferences, etc.)

03 Use info to adapt environment, curriculum, and teaching methods

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 86% • Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments• We involve families in our thematic units of study when possible

based on their interests, talents, and availability. For our whole school units, we intentionally invite families to be involved by sharing their perspectives with us. Included are sample invitations from Director’s Corner articles related to our 2/07 unit on games and our 2/08 unit on art & artists.

06 Intentional practice to foster strong reciprocal relationships

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 98%

• Administrative Team members conduct events and tours for prospective parents and guide them through the registration and enrollment processes.• Members of the Administrative Team attend all school and classroom special events to get to know families and are available for conversation. We also have an open door policy so that family members can approach us with questions / concerns as they arise. At least one team member is visible during greeting and dismissal, as well as being available during parent-teacher conferences.• Greeting and dismissal rotations have been developed so that all staff members interact frequently with those who transport the child to school• Parent involvement opportunities (see 7.A.07-12)

07 Ensure inclusion of all families in programming, volunteering …

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 93% • Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments• Significant advance notice is given to families of the major school events to give plenty of time for planning attendance (July mailing of calendar for the year). Reminders given at fall parent meeting, in monthly newsletters, and just before events. Email reminders are also sent close to events.• During the fall of 2007, we began systematically tracking

participation in events, so the logs are included here. We had 72% attendance at the introductory parent meeting, 85% at the initial school visit, Open House attendance of 80% for 3’s, 75% for 4’s, 90% for K, 100% for extended morning, and 100% for extended evening.• School Newsletters (See 7.A.09) document parent involvement in special project such as the Scholastic book sales, school pictures, etc. Classroom Newsletters (See Classroom Portfolios in section 1.A.01) document parent involvement in classroom events (e.g., reading, cooking, etc.)

08 Learn from family knowledge of children

• Begins with enrollment form (see 7.A.02)• Discussions at Fall Parent Meeting• Conference Discussions (see Assessment Article with highlighted description of parent input)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 86% • Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments• For children with special needs, we typically meet with parents at enrollment, prior to matriculation, and then multiple extra times throughout the year based on the IEP and interagency meeting schedules. Parent input is central to these meetings.

09 Variety of formal and informal communication methods

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 100% • Summer mailing 7/07• Family handbook & Introductory Parent Meeting 8/07• Web site (best to look on the web but samples included in 7.B.02)• Monthly newsletters (See Staff Handbook – Family Section)• Periodic paper memos & emails, etc.• Staff Parent Brown Bag re: School Choice (handouts, attendance, evaluation forms, followup email) 10/07• Father appreciation re: experimenting with an electronic daily “white board” (kindergarten)• Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments

11 Family presence at school

• Parent Handbook Letter and p. 6&7 re: observing and volunteering


12 Family Involvement with other families

• Distribution of class lists with contact information (July prior to school starting and updated as needed throughout the year 7.A.09)• Family Social Organization (description and sample activity flyers)• Family Events are excellent opportunities for connection (See 7.A.07)• Parent Committees also promote interaction (See 7.A.13)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 86%

• In cases of extended child illness, parent illness or death, or other challenging situations, parents often ask how they can help. We work sensitively to help coordinate efforts that are respectful and responsive to individual family needs. An example from a prior year is included, as well as a very recent one. In some cases, families have taken the initiative to organize meals, bedtime routine help, etc. for families dealing with a parent’s extended hospitalization.

13 Governing / Advisory groups include families as active members. Staff members encourage family members taking leadership.

• The Children’s School does not have an advisory board or other governing body. The Director reports to the Psychology Department Chair, who reports to the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences.

• Family Involvement Form (whole school involvement)• Parent Leadership of Committees (e.g, Scholastic Books, Library, Repair & Construction, etc.)• Parents take initiative to make suggestions – see sample email recommending a prospective teacher and newsletter article re: School Choice Brown Bag• Parents are also encouraged to be involved directly in the classrooms (see Classroom Portfolio) • Family Self-Assessment Survey 93%

14 Program Staff and Families work together to plan events

• The Assistant Director handles parent involvement activities, supports the coordinator of the Family Social Organization (7.A.12), interfaces with Parent Committees (7.A.13), and works directly with parents on fund-raising events.• Samples from Fall ‘07 Scholastic Book Sales (7.A.13)

• Newsletter samples re: planning Annual School Photos and Year End Celebration Picnic


7.B. Sharing Information between Staff and Families

01 Variety of mechanisms to promote dialogue

• See Program Portfolio Section 7.A• Sample emails, etc. showing that the dialogue continues after the children are in elementary school• Family Self-Assessment Survey 50% (question only applied to 6 respondents and two responded with DK – only one no)

02 Program information provided in a language the family can understand

• At present, all Children’s School families report having at least one parent who can effectively read English.• Prospective Family Brochure• Web Site Outline & Key Family Sections• Visitor Packet / Children’s School DVD• Family Handbook• Whole School Newsletters (7.A.09)

(Classroom Newsletters are in Classroom Portfolios 1.A.01)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 100% • Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments

• The Children’s School does not routinely provide written materials in languages other than English because we have families from so many different language backgrounds (e.g., just last year including Iceland, Poland, Korea, China, Pakistan, Japan, Brazil, and Thailand, among others).

• The ESL Form specifically asks whether we could serve a family better by having materials translated or having a translator present at conferences, etc. If any parents request that service, we can contact the International Student Office for assistance in finding a translator who is fluent in the relevant language. Sample email from a student volunteering to help teachers discern the nature of the interactions between two children speaking to each other in Korean. We are arranging for this same student to translate at conferences in April.

03 Informs families re: Assessment

• See Program Portfolio Sections 4.E.02, 06, 07• Family Self-Assessment Survey 98%

04 Communication re: special needs is sensitive, supportive, and confidential, with documentation of concerns, next steps, and resources

• Sample Letters from families re: appreciation for our approach to working with children who have special needs

• All staff, support staff, researchers, student teachers, and others with access to conversation or documents related to special needs must sign a confidentiality pledge prior to working with children. Blank copy in portfolio, signed copied filed by administrative coordinator with other clearances, etc.

• Family Handbook p. 10, 12, and 30 re: Special Needs and Behavior Management


7.C. Nurturing Families as Advocates for their Children

01 Encourage family contributions re: child’s goals, activities & services

• Teachers and Administrators work closely with families whose children need developmental support, including regular face to face and email communication.• Sample email dialogues demonstrate family contributions• Family Self-Assessment Survey 93%

02 Encourage concerns to be raised and collaborative solutions

• Invitations to raise concerns and questions (Family Handbook, p. 7, October Newsletter re: Administrative Roles)

• Sample individual parent communication (email)• List of issue topic files available to parents via the office• Family Self-Assessment Survey 84% • Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments

03 Encourage family decisions about services and advocacy to receive them

• Referral information from vision and language/hearing screen• Sample referral memos / emails• Family Self-Assessment Survey 98% • Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments

04 Negotiate difficulties in interactions with family members, including translation as needed

• Administrators use meetings and followup phone calls or emails to discuss individual cases, especially after emotional meetings with families. Administrators support teachers during conference time by reviewing conference forms to offer suggestions re: wording, by sitting in on challenging conferences, and by providing followup discussion and referrals after the regular conference. We rarely experience severe difficulties with families; but when situations arise, we attempt to use dialogue strategies to resolve differences. Our approach is to be honest yet sensitive in both our communication with

families and the other agencies that serve them. Samples from the most complex cases with families can be pulled from the special needs files by the Director upon request.

• Family Self-Assessment Survey 84% • Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%• See 7.A.02 re: translation

05 EMERGING – Provide info re: programs and services from other organizations

• Family Handbook p. 10, 30• Family Self-Assessment Survey 95% • Sample newsletters / emails re: services that are generally relevant• Photos of Family Bulletin Board re: specialized announcements, extra information, etc.• Refer to Director’s Files re: special needs for specialized referral information (file drawer and computer) – Sample in 8.A.01

06 Established linkages with local ECE and elementary schools

• Family Handbook p. 12• Family Self-Assessment Survey 95% • Newsletter mailing list (monthly contact with local schools)• Letters from colleagues at other schools re: visits, collaboration on admissions procedures, etc.• Our Administrative Coordinator maintains files of brochures from diverse local schools so that parents can get them from one central source (file drawer in the office, plus a display at school choice time). • School Annual Reports also list observations that our staff do at local school (Program Section under professional development) and other educators who observe our program (Community Section).• Staff files list school visits, presentations, etc. attended by an individual staff member.

07 Transition support for moves to elementary school

• Handout from annual brown bag re: School Choice (distributed to all families even if they do not attend) – See 4.E.06

• Announcement re: annual School Choice Fair held at the JCC • Letters from local schools commending our help in transition• Family Self-Assessment Survey 95% • Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

08 Written consent required for release of confidential child info

• Staff Handbook p. 12-13, 18• Family Handbook p. 12-13• Sample consent forms for school records required for private school admission / Assistant Director’s letter to schools• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 90%


Standard 8: Community Relationships

8.A. Linking with the Community

01 Current list of child and family support services

• Refer to Director’s Files re: special needs for specialized referral information (file drawer and computer) – Sample for speech referrals, tutoring, girls’ resources, developmental screening, etc. included in portfolio• Family Self-Assessment Survey 95%

02 Partnerships and professional relationships with agencies, consultants and organizations in the community to further

the program’s capacity to meet child and family needs and interests

• See 7.C

03 Connections with culturally and linguistically appropriate services

• Familiar with parochial as well as public and private schools so can discuss the role of religious issues when choosing schools• Director is aware of the foundational perspective re: different counselors and parenting books so can provide an appropriate match after asking the parent if those issues matter (e.g., Blessings of a Skinned Knee written from a Jewish perspective)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 95% • Sample email exchange with a parent re: African American Heritage (note book referrals)

04 Continuity of services via communication with agencies

• Therapist Info Form to keep track of contact info• Book of completed forms is at the Administrative Coordinator’s

desk.

• Letter of support from Peter A. Alfieri, MS Ed, BSC from UPMC’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic re: continuity, communication, etc. between the Children’s School and his agency in the service of children with autism spectrum disorders

05 Relationships with specialized consultants

• Letter of support from Shellie Ross, PhD, licensed psychologist re: relationship with Children’s School


06 EMERGING – Awareness of the program by the community

• See 7.C.06 for Newsletter mailing list re: CMU and local community• Psychology Department Annual Meeting powerpoint shows Department Chair sharing info about the Children’s School with department members• 2006-2007 Staff won Carnegie Mellon’s “Andy Award” for Innovation, which both indicated community awareness of our contributions and gave us extensive publicity (award program and related documents are included)• Sample emails from other area providers re: child placement, accreditation support, training opportunities, etc.

07 EMERGING – Info from community considered in planning continuous quality improvement

• Sample Email Feedback from researchers re: administration,policies, etc. (feedback from university community)• See also 7.C.06 re: school visits with elementary school administrators and teachers (interacting with them is our biggest source of feedback from the community)

8.B. Accessing Community Resources

02 Connect with and use cultural resources

• Family Handbook p. 3, 20• Tix for Teachers and local museum outreach, etc. help our teachers stay informed about local resources• At Carnegie Mellon

The campus community is rich with opportunities for field trips to places such as the post office, the cafeteria, art galleries, laboratories, construction sites, etc.

Many classes also invite our children to be audiences for their performances (e.g., shadow puppet shows prepared by a design class, testers of museum exhibits designed by an engineering class, etc.).• In Pittsburgh

Teachers use the public library to supplement our collection during each theme. The teachers use the web to search for relevant books, request them in advance and then connect with children’s librarians to get them the week before the unit. The librarian from a local branch is also a regular “special Friday” visitor to our 4’s program.

Our school belongs to the Carnegie Educator E-newsletter to get updates on available programs. Staff members take advantage of professional development activities such as Art in Architecture 10/07, Dinosaurs 11/07, photos of the latter included in portfolio.

We also belong to the Carnegie Museum lending library so that our teachers can reserve sets of artifacts relevant to our thematic units. They use these materials to enrich the science aspects of our program with materials that we could not otherwise access.

The university is adjacent to Schenley Park, so we visit it regularly on walking field trips.

03 Inform families about cultural events

• Sample newsletter entries (Art Corner column added in 2007-08 to go along with our whole school Art & Artists theme)/ special flyers / emails• We distribute the Pittsburgh Parent monthly (free)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 95% • Self-Study Family Survey data and verbatim comments

04 Invite community members to share interests and talents with children

• Family Handbook p. 3• Family members are acknowledged in classroom newsletters • Photos of Carnegie Mellon community members sharing interests / talents (police office giving a tour of her police car, students teaching our kindergarten hip hop)• Photos of Pittsburgh community members sharing interests / talents (Irv Kaufmann from the Pittsburgh Symphony, Librarian from Carnegie Library)

05 Engage with other community organizations and groups to cosponsor or participate in cultural events to enrich the

experience of children and families in the program

• Tom Hunter event – From 11/05, but it’s the most major event we’ve done in this regard because of Hunter’s national status / high cost (cosponsored with the Alcoa Collaborative, see 8.C.02). We also sponsored a full-day conference on “The Art of Possibility” with Rosamund Zander (11/06).• Participate in PAEYC Month of the Young Child events, TV Turn Off Week, etc. (see sample flyers)• Collaborated with the educators at the Carnegie Museum of Art re:

a series of interactions for 4’s and K both at school and at the museum. CMOA Educators then came to participate in our Family Festival event on 2/28/08.

8.C. Acting as a Citizen in the Neighborhood and the Early Childhood Community

01 Staff encouraged to participate in education organizations and public awareness activities

• The school belongs to the International Association of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools (NALS) and the National Coalition of Campus Children’s Centers (NCCCC).• The school pays for all staff members to join NAEYC / PAEYC (membership numbers in staff files, list included here).• The school pays for registration and travel expenses for all staff development.• Annual report documentation of attendance and contributions related to professional development for 2006 and 2007.• Research connections via NALS and in the local Pittsburgh area• Samples re: PAEYC and NAEYC connections• NCCCC panel presentation at NAEYC re: accreditation• Web sharing of accreditation resources we developed

02 Joint and collaborative training activities with neighboring ECE programs

• The Children’s School is a partner in the Alcoa Collaborative (brochure and sample documents)• Presentations at the June ’07 NAEYC Professional Development Conference re: the Collaborative• We collaborate with Family Communications on a number of projects, most recently being included in the filming for a new training module, “Let’s Explore.”

03 Encourage staff and families to collaborate re: community improvement / advocacy projects

• Participation in Carnegie Mellon outreach (e.g., November food drive, recycling emphasis, etc.)• Participation in PAEYC’s Month of the Young Child activities (see 8.B.05)• Support of PAEYC’s advocacy activities• We send week of the Young Child cards to our campus and

community mailing lists every year as a way to raise awareness.

04 Communication to build mutual relationships with close neighbors

• The Children’s School is central to the CMU campus. We communicate most regularly via our monthly newsletter distributions (see 7.C.06).• Our Annual Report documents campus relationships in the Program Section.• We send holiday cards to our campus and community mailing lists as a way to stay connected.• Our Professional Development Center serves the entire western PA region, with our primary biggest outreach effort being our August workshops. Our August workshop flyer is included in the portfolio, together with evaluations from the August workshops and an email from a participant whose team later visited our program. A participant list from 2007 is included to show the breadth of impact via number of attendees and variety of programs represented. Also included is the information we submitted to the university’s outreach office for their publicity.• We share information, as appropriate, with local early childhood programs to help them better serve staff and families (e.g., Crafton Heights Community Preschool).

• See Alcoa Collaborative documents re: Accreditation Support in the process portfolio• The Director contributes to media reports related to child development (sample re: impact of gender)

05 Staff participate in community or statewide interagency councils or service integration efforts

• Annual Report sections for 2006 and 2007 document leadership in such efforts via PAEYC, the Alcoa Collaborative, and NALS. See 8.C.01• One kindergarten teacher, Linda Hancock, is on the governing board of PAEYC and was PAEYC’s treasurer for two terms ending in 2007 (see PAEYC newsletter). The Director has also served on the PAEYC board and as a vice-president but is not

currently serving.• The Director is the coordinator of Communication and Technology for NALS, the International Association of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools.• Email offering to nominate the Director for the NCCCC board in 2008. Director accepted and will run in 2008 to begin in 2009 (see statement of interest submitted to NCCCC in 2/08).• Email offering to nominate the Director for the PAEYC board in 2008. Director accepted and will run in 2008 to begin in 2008.• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 91%

06 Administrators are knowledgeable about policy changes and resources at local, state and national levels.

• Active readers of organization newsletters, active participant in NCCCC email exchange (see sample newsletters and contributions). • Contributions to PAEYC and NCCCC re: Accreditation via a panel presentation at the NAEYC conference and our web site (see email appreciation). • We subscribe to the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (county special services) email “Newsbreak” to stay abreast of services and professional development.• The director also helps a professor who has authored one of the premiere child development texts to keep his sections related to policy up to date (see email re: book review).


Standard 9: Physical Environment

9.A. Indoor and Outdoor Equipment, Materials and Furnishings

13 Choice of materials, equipment and furnishings to support curriculum, meet program goals, and foster desired outcomes

• Staff Handbook Purchasing Policy re: choice of items to fit goals and themes (p. 38)• Kitchen Renovation grant proposal stating goals re: developmental appropriateness, plus photos of renovation shared in the 2006-07 parent meeting.

9.B. Outdoor Environmental Design

04 Outdoor classroom square footage (ALWAYS)

• School Map showing playground measurements. 7,425 square feet would be sufficient for 99 children at once, and we have a maximum of 50 at one time (75 per child).

07 EMERGING – Findings of assessment by Certified Playground Safety Inspector re: play equipment is safe and age appropriate, with indication of ongoing inspection and maintenance

• See notebook re: playground inspection by Dennis Smiddle CPSI(report issued on 12/18/07) – Findings note no priority 1 or 2 hazards. Suggestion re: spacing of railings on playground pavilions is being investigated.• New red playground surface at climber end 11/07

9.C. Building and Physical Design

01 Indoor classroom square footage (ALWAYS)

• School Map showing classroom square footage (35 per child)3’s 956 square feet, sufficient for 27 children4’s 915 square feet, sufficient for 26 childrenK 999 square feet, sufficient for 28 childrenPLUS Kitchen 110 square feet (all ages)

Discovery Area 546 square feet (preschool)Library 180 square feet (all ages)

03 Compliance with ADA (ALWAYS)

• Family Handbook p. 6• The university has an office of Equal Opportunity Services that coordinates all compliance checks regarding the ADA. The Children’s School has actually been designated as the access route to the tennis courts for the whole campus community.• All doors are at least 32” wide, no thresholds are more than 1/2” high. There is a wheelchair ramp at the front of our building and an elevator to our floor. We have had a child in a wheelchair at one time in the past and were able to rearrange the room so that all pathways were clear for her. There is a bathroom on our floor, but not within the school, that has a handicapped accessible stall for adults. All of these features will be evident on the school tour, but representative photos are included.

06 Cleaning and Sanitation Frequency• See 5.C.01

08 Policies to protect children and adults from physical hazards (ALWAYS)

• Staff Handbook Health & Safety Policies, p. 19-26• Family Handbook Health & Safety Policies, p. 21-24• Carnegie Mellon’s Environmental Health & Safety Authorization (5.C.)• Subscription to Pittsburgh Police Citizen Alert (sample notices)• Subscription to a product safety alert system for our own use and to

send notices to parents (sample notices included)

• We do not serve infants and, therefore, do not use walkers.

10 Policies re: equipping first aid kits and placing them (ALWAYS)

• See Staff Handbook, p. 19-20 (9.C.08)• See Family Handbook, p. 21 (9.C.08)• First Aid Kit checklist / Emergency Backpack checklist

11 Logs of Testing & Service for fire extinguishers, fire alarms,carbon monoxide detectors. (ALWAYS)

• Map of Safety Equipment Locations provided by CMU’s Environmental Health and Safety Department• EHS Web Info re: Mission, Policies, etc.• EHS fire alarm testing schedule• Carnegie Mellon Fire / Emergency Action Plan

13 Evidence of ventilation after renovation

• Environmental Health and Safety policies re: construction• Most Children’s School renovations happen during the summer months or during winter / spring break, except in emergency situations. We can also call EHS for air safety testing any time we encounter a noxious smell in our building (see sample email).

14 School Vehicles15 Staff Use of Vehicles / Safety Restraints

• The Children’s School owns no vehicles, and staff members are not permitted to drive children in their cars. Staff members are also prohibited from installing car seats in cars. When parents drive on field trips, all children and adults use safety-restraint devices in accordance with manufacturer instructions. For occasional kindergarten field trips, we may use a hired bus, in which case we follow all of the bus company’s safety procedures.• Family Handbook p. 20 re: field trips, p. 27 re: car seats

9.D. Environmental Health

• List of Contact Info for Carnegie Mellon Personnel

01 Documentation re: building assessment & remedial actions forlead, radon, radiation, asbestos, fiberglass, or other hazards

• Carnegie Mellon Environmental Health & Safety Authorization• EHS Regulatory Compliance Statement• Letter re: Children’s School Radon Test and Lead / Asbestos Abatement• Report re: 8/07 flooding and tests of sand on playground (after

thorough sanitizing of entire area)

02 Identification of water source (and safety if not public source)

• Pennsylvania American Water Company, 2006 Water Quality Report (note service area page re: City of Pittsburgh)• Sample tap water advisory• Example of closing school during water main break

03 Policy to protect children and adults from air pollution

• Staff Handbook Safety Policies (See 9.C.08)• Web Intro to Air Quality Service• Sample Air Quality Notices

05 HVAC service statement & maintenance in compliance with national standards for facility use by children

• Caring for Our Children – National Health and Safety Performance Standards document• HVAC service records from Kyle Tomer

06 Smoke Free Environment

• CMU smoke-free environment policy (drug / alcohol and firearms policies also)

• Photo of No Smoking Sign on Children’s School door

07 Same as 5.C.04 re: following allergy recommendations

• See 5.C.04

08 Pesticide / herbicide policy re: use of Integrated Pest Management

• Carnegie Mellon Integrated Pest Management Program Specifications Section 5• Guidelines re: poisonous plants included in staff handbook. There are no poisonous plants on our playground. Indoor plant activities are supervised by an adult to ensure that children do not ingest poisonous parts (e.g., activities involving flower arranging or dissection).


Standard 10: Leadership and Management

10.A. Leadership

01 Well-articulated mission related to all aspects of program, including child and family

• Mission Statement (Staff Handbook p. 3, summarized in Family Handbook letter p. 1, Web Site under Mission)

• Executive Summary of Annual Report from 2006 & 2007

04 Dr. Sharon M. Carver is the designated program administrator

• Dr. Carver’s Current Vitae (see Staff File for further information)• Photos of involvement in with staff and children

10.B. Management Policies and Procedures

01 Staff responsibilities, planning time, training & resources, importance of teamwork and of partnership with families,

professionals, and community

• Job Descriptions (See 10.E.01c)• Staff-Staff Interactions Statement (Handbook p. 7)• Professional Development Statement (See 10.E.01g)• Time Related Policies (Handbook p. 34-37)

02 Program operations guided by written policies and procedures

• Staff Handbook (CMU’s is on line – cover page in portfolio, Children’s School notebook)

• Family Handbook (notebook)• Support Staff Handbook – for interns, student employees,

therapists, and volunteers (spiral bound, See 6.A.04)

03 EMERGING – Technology based information systems used for data gathering and analysis

• Student Database template – can be sorted by any field to print just the allergy list, the parent occupations, the student / sibling list for research, etc.• We have compilations of data for a range of evaluations (just word documents with summaries, etc.)• We are beginning to track parent involvement via simple checklists• We used the Excel spreadsheets for our self-assessment data (see Program Portfolio notebook)

04 Documentation of regulated status re: public regulatory systems (REQUIRED)

• The Children’s School is not eligible for licensing by the Department of Public Welfare according to Chapter 3270.3.b.4, “This chapter does not apply to care provided during the hours of instruction in non-public schools and in private nursery school and kindergartens.” (12/10/05)

• The Director reviewed all of the general requirements from 3270.11 through 3270.193 (see notebook in the Director’s Office) and pledges that the school meets all of the requirements. The list included here documents the correspondence between the DPW and NAEYC requirements, as well as ways that the program meets any requirements that are not covered by NAEYC or differ in some way.

• Carnegie Mellon designated the Psychology Department Chair, Dr. Michael Scheier, as our “owner” for the purposes of Accreditation. He has reviewed both the DPW requirements and Director’s documentation regarding our compliance, as well as touring the school (see documentation letter).

05 Accident and liability insurance

• Carnegie Mellon’s certificate of insurance

06 Policies / Procedures for governing board / advisory group

• Not Applicable – The Children’s School has no governing board or advisory group. As indicated on our mission statement, we are part of the Psychology Department, which is part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. As an academic unit, we submit an annual report to the department and the college and are part of the review by the University Trustees every 6 years. Annual reports from 1993 to the present are available in the Director’s Office. • The section from the Trustee report completed in 2002 is in the Program Portfolio. The next Trustee review process will happen in 2008.

07 Strategic Planning Process re: implementing vision & mission, achieving outcomes for children, maintaining high-quality

service to children & families, providing long-term resources for operations

• Children’s School Annual Reports (Binders in Director’s Office)• Executive Summary & Highlights & Future Direction Sections from

2006 and 2007 Annual Reports• Evaluation Plan and Related Forms for May 2007• Family Handbook p. 7


08 Policies and procedures for orienting and welcoming children and families

• Family Handbook Letter (p. 1) and orientation description p. 14

09 Plans / policies for staff recruitment and reducing turnover (ALWAYS)

• The Children’s School is required to follow the on-line staff recruitment policies and procedures of Carnegie Mellon’s Talent Management System (web overview is included). • In addition, we encourage staff and parents to make referrals if they have suggestions. Part of the May 2007 administrative review requested that staff members offer input re: the hiring of a new administrative coordinator (input summary is included). • The best strategies we have for reducing turnover are our excellent team working environment, strong professional development offerings, high quality benefits, and competitive salaries (highest for private ECE in the area), all of which are documented elsewhere in the program portfolio.

10 EMERGING – Policies and procedures for specialized consultants

• Staff Handbook p. 11 re: staff-therapist interactions• We also follow policies / procedures of external agencies (sample included)• We also provide a copy of our support staff handbook, maintain a record of therapist contact info, and log everyone’s time at the school. (See notebooks at the Administrative Coordinator’s desk.)

11 Policies re: assignment of primary teaching responsibility12 Procedures re: maintenance of staff-child ratios indoors,

outdoors, and on field trips (ALWAYS)13 Demonstration that we have minimized transitions between

groups, teachers, and classrooms (ALWAYS)

• Family Handbook p. 17

• Staff Handbook p. 7-8 re: staff-child interactions, p. 21 re: ratios (Note that on our next iteration, we will add the clarification that one teacher may leave the classroom to get supplies, snack, use the restroom, etc. for less than 5 minutes without replacement and that the absence can be up to 20 minutes if an “other adult”, which is our case is typically an undergraduate intern or employee, is present.) • Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

14 Procedures to address transition planning by admin, teachers, and families

• Family Handbook p. 17• Newsletter item re: Administrative Coordinator leaving to do her student teaching• Email introduction of new Administrative Coordinator, Annie Smith• Letter to parents re: staff short-term disability (Gina Williams)• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

10.C. Fiscal Accountability Policies and Procedures

01 Fiscal policies and procedures

• Children’s School finances are managed by the Psychology Department Financial Manager, Kathy Majors, according to the policies and procedures of Carnegie Mellon.• Carnegie Mellon Finance Policy re: retention of records• The Director prepares an annual budget, and shares it with staff. Kathy Majors then reformats the budget for the CMU computer system, does the monthly tracking of income and expenses, provides the Director with monthly reports, and prepares the year-end report for the CMU audit. The budget can be amended at any time. The Director keeps a notebook of the monthly and year-end reports for planning purposes.• 2005-06 Budget Explanation prepared for staff to understand the full sources of our funding (only done occasionally because not much changes year to year)• 2006-07 Year-End Report as detailed in the CMU system• 2007-08 Budget as prepared by Director and presented to staff in August 2007 (specific salary info covered for confidentiality reasons)• Most school purchases are handled by the Administrative Coordinator or Assistant Director via purchase order, with much of the ordering done on-line. One staff member from each team has a CMU credit card for purchases that cannot be made with a purchase order. The Assistant Director maintains a petty cash fund according to CMU policies and procedures for reimbursing purchases that are made with personal cash or credit.• Staff Handbook Purchasing Guidelines p. 38• Family Handbook p. 34 re: Tuition Regulations

02 Administrator involved in budgeting and long-range planning

• The Director is included in the budgeting process as described above. Carnegie Mellon requires budget projections for five years, but those are handled by Kathy Majors in consultation with the Director. The budget projection through 2011 is included.

03 Resources available to support the program / active work to generate and manage resources

• As the budget in 10.C.01 indicates, the school is well funded by tuition, well-supported by CMU through direct salary support (see Oracle Report re: salary allocation) and infrastructure services, and additionally supported for special projects through alumni and parent fundraising. Sample email response to another campus children’s center is included.• The Director and Assistant Director have primary responsibility for the extra fundraising necessary for these special projects, most recently including the kitchen renovation (summer 2006) and playground resurfacing (fall 2007).

10.D. Health, Nutrition, and Safety Policies and Procedures

01 Health and Safety Policies• Staff Handbook H&S Guidelines (9.C.08)• Family Handbook H&S Guidelines (9.C.08)• Adult Immunization Guide• Subscription to the CDC “Cool Tip of the Week”• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

02 Environmental Hazard procedures


03 Child Abuse / Neglect Reporting Policy04 Child Abuse Staff Accusation Policy

• Staff Handbook p. 24ff• Family Handbook p. 30ff• Email re: concern raised by an undergraduate about a potential gun in a child’s home (based on child comment and play)

05 Child Health Info Collection & Maintenance Policy

• Staff Handbook p. 19• Family Handbook p. 23 • Child immunization guide

06 Arrival, Departure & Transportation Procedures

• Staff Handbook p. 23 re: Child Release• Family Handbook p. 25-27 Greet & Dismiss, p. 28 Child Release• Family Self-Assessment Survey 100%

07 Transportation Services Policies, Licensing & Insurance

• Family Handbook p. 20 re: Field Trip Transportation

08 Written and Posted Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Evacuation Procedures

• Current Emergency Action Plan • Current Carnegie Mellon Plan re: Children’s School• Photos of posted evacuation routes• 2007-2008 Emergency Drill Schedule• Carnegie Mellon Alert System, initiated Fall 07• FEMA Alert System, joined 12/07

09 Written Procedures for Response to Medical and Dental Emergencies

• Family Handbook p. 23• Staff Handbook p. 23

10 Written Policies and Procedures for Administering Medications


10.E. Personnel Policies

Note that the Children’s School uses Carnegie Mellon’s Personnel Policies for almost every aspect of this description. They are available on the web at http://hr.web.cmu.edu/, but the cover page of each section is included in the Program Portfolio.

01 Personnel Policies


• a Position Description Forms (university format) for teachers, assistant teachers, and administrative coordinator. None are available for Director or Assistant Director since no hiring has been done since the new system has been in place.• b Carnegie Mellon non-discriminatory hiring statements, partnering for performance guidelines, and discipline procedures. The Children’s School has adapted its own approach to performance reviews to fit the teaching profession and NAEYC standards (samples from 2006 and 2007 reviews are included, completed samples can be found in staff files).• c Children’s School Job Descriptions• d CMU Staff Pay Schedule includes Salary minimum, midpoint, and maximum for each pay grade based on a 12 month year. Translations for the Children’s School staff, most of whom work a 9 month year are noted on the printout. CMU also sets the raise % each year (see sample memo from 2007).• e Carnegie Mellon 2007 Benefits Overview

• Flu shots are also offered free to employees and scheduled to fit our school schedules.

• f Carnegie Mellon Separation, Termination, and Grievance Guidelines• g Incentives for participation in professional development opportunities are based on principles of adult learning: choice, high quality, funding (including travel), etc. No additional incentives are in place, with the exception of the $1,000 salary boost when staff members earn a masters degree.

• Staff Handbook re: Professional Development (p. 31-33)

http://hr.web.cmu.edu/

03 Policies re: Recruiting Staff and Volunteers with the cultural, racial, and language characteristics of the families served, with

documentation of regular interaction with families

• Other than following the non-discriminatory job posting and hiring practices of CMU (10.E.01b), we have no additional policy regarding recruitment to fit the diversity of our population. CMU has approximately 30% international students, so our observers, interns, researchers, and student employees are quite a diverse group.

05 Introductory Period of Employment

• Staff Handbook, p. 32• Sample hire letter from most recent hire without salary info

06 Benefits including health, leave, education, and retirement

• See 10.E.01e• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

07 Staff Schedule documenting time away from children (15 minutes per 4 hours)

• Staff Handbook p. 34• Staff Time Analysis from 2006 Professional Development• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

11 Professional Development Plan

• Staff Handbook, p. 31-33 • Family Handbook, p. 5• New Staff Orientation Overview (most recently Annie Smith)• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

12 Professional Development

• Professional Development Schedules for 2006-07 and 2007-08 • Sample Staff Meeting agendas.• Submission of Staff Development for PA’s Act 48 Credit ranged from 67-80 hours in 2006-07.

• Individual records of professional development related to each required content area over a broader period of recent years is included in each staff member’s file.


10.F. Program Evaluation, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement

01 Annual comprehensive program evaluation02 Evidence of sharing with families, staff, and superiors

• Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100% for 01 and 91% for 02 (only because there was one temporary staff person taking the survey who had not attended the August parent meeting)• Family Self-Assessment Survey 81% for 01 and 77% for 02 (note that 11 of the 18 DK responses for 01 were from families affiliated with the school for less than 3 months, as were 12 of 18 DK responses for 02)

The Children’s School’s annual evaluation process is covered in 10.A.01 and 10.B.06&06. Our focus for the past two years has been shaped by the re-invented NAEYC accreditation system. The Re-Accreditation Process Portfolio includes May 2006 and August 2006 self-study preparation activities, summaries, and improvement plans, May 2006 & 2007 self-study / self-assessment work, and documents showing our process for each step toward re-accreditation. A summary of these processes prepared for the NCCCC panel at the fall ’07 NAEYC conference is included.

03 Goals for continuous improvement & innovation

• Goals for improvement are embedded in the evaluation documents in 10.F.01 and 02. For example, the “Reflection on School Philosophy & Practice re: NAEYC’s Three Essential Themes” activities from May 2007 indicate plans for improvement re: children’s development, diversity, and special needs. The teaching teams also did a team evaluation that included the Classroom Tour, plus our standard questions for each year. It lists improvement plans relative to the tour and to the program evaluation. The Staff Survey also revealed some areas for improvement that are being pursued.

04 Involve staff and families in decision-making

• Staff are involved in program improvement throughout the process as documented in 10.F.01 and 02.

• All families are invited to participate in the annual survey and to become more involved via committees. One parent was involved in the Summer 2006 improvement planning and contributed significant research re: health & safety and physical environment standards. He also reviewed both the Staff and Family Handbooks and made helpful suggestions for improvement (see accreditation process documents).• The Assistant Director and two teachers formed a committee during the 2006-07 year to explore the possibility of offering a 2’s program. They did market research, a parent survey, and had several opportunities to get feedback from the staff. The parent interest is high, but there are still logistical issues to be resolved, so we will wait until after the accreditation process to do a more detailed plan.• Family Self-Assessment Survey 93% • Teaching Staff Self-Assessment Survey 100%

05 EMERGING – Ongoing monitoring system with “data system”

• Our Annual Reports are our best vehicle for ongoing monitoring over the years. See Notebooks back to 1993 in the Director’s office.

• We have an extensive database re: children so that varied sets of records can be printed depending on what is necessary for the task at hand (e.g., allergy lists for staff, birth date and sibling lists for researchers, etc.). See 10.B.03.• We used all of the Excel files provided by NAEYC for synthesizing our self-assessment data (separate program portfolio files for the steps in our self-study and self-assessment processes). See Self-Assessment Notebook.• We also developed Classroom and Program Portfolio outlines, as well as Staff File and Thematic Unit overviews to make the process of tracking our evidence easier. See Self-Assessment Notebook.

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