Parent Handbook

Our Classrooms

• Infants — Inchworm & Caterpillar (6 weeks–18 months). Visual development, sign language, verbal development, and motor experiences. Children eat, sleep, and play on their own individual schedules; parents provide an updated feeding schedule each month, and all bottles must be labeled and premixed.
• Walkers / Young Toddler (18 months–2+ years). Continued verbal development, sign language, fine and gross motor activities, and creative play. Children move to a single nap and self-feed at meals; art, music, language, literacy, and science are part of the daily routine.
• Transition Class (from 2½ years). Focuses on potty-training, language development, and cognitive growth to prepare children for the 3s program.
• 3s Program (age 3, fully potty-trained). Hands-on, developmentally appropriate activities across literacy, math, science, music, and art in classrooms organized for block play, manipulatives, art, dramatic play, and reading.
• Pre-Kindergarten I (early 4s). Prepares children for the transitional kindergarten curriculum.
• Transitional Kindergarten / Pre-K II (4+). Begins each school year in conjunction with Frisco ISD, for children who start Kindergarten the following year. Literacy, math concepts, and writing through hands-on, project-based learning in a child-driven environment.

Moving Up to the Next Classroom

Transitions are discussed with parents well in advance, and children “visit” their new class before moving. There is no formula: a child must meet the minimum age for the next room, and readiness — potty training, eating skills, motor development, and social/emotional growth — is always considered. The Director approves every transition.

Meals & Rest

• Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided daily (lunch catered by KidzCaters), with milk, water, and fresh fruit offered every day. Monthly menus are posted near the lobby.
• We are a nut-free school. Notify us in writing of any allergies or dietary restrictions; a physician’s statement and Allergy Action Plan are required for food allergies.
• Parents have the right to breastfeed or provide breast milk; a private nursing space is available.
• Children 12 months and older in care five or more hours have a supervised rest period after lunch — typically 2 hours, with at least 1 hour of rest (sleep is never required; quiet activities follow).

What to Bring (and Leave at Home)

Dress children for active, messy, indoor-and-outdoor play in labeled clothing with closed-toe, rubber-soled shoes, and keep two full sets of extra clothes at the center. Please leave toys at home — one soft comfort item for nap time may stay in your child’s cubby. Water play (sprinklers, water tables) requires permission and is announced at least 48 hours ahead.

Drop-Off & Pick-Up

• Escort your child into the center, check in at the front-desk fingerprint system every day, and walk them to their classroom. Please arrive by 9:00 AM so children don’t miss the core curriculum.
• Children are released only to parents and adults you have authorized — anyone unfamiliar must be authorized in writing and show photo ID.
• Sign out at the front desk before going to the classroom, pick up your youngest child first, and keep children with you once released. Please refrain from cell-phone use in the building.
• Every family receives a personal key fob (please don’t share it); doors stay locked at all times and visitors ring the bell.

Tuition & Fees

• Tuition is charged monthly on the last working day before the month begins, and is based on your child’s age. Returned payments incur a $35 fee; tuition unpaid after one week may require withdrawal.
• No credits or discounts are given for closures beyond our control, weather, holidays, absences, or illness.
• Vacation credit: with at least 2 weeks’ written notice, a $50-per-week payment holds your child’s place for up to 2 vacation weeks per calendar year; longer leaves need Director approval. For extended/summer breaks, infants pay half tuition and children over 12 months pay a hold-spot fee.
• One promotional discount per child at a time (sibling discount on the oldest child excepted). Replacement key fobs are $20. Our referral incentive gives families $150 off tuition per referred student who stays at least 90 days.

Withdrawal, Schedule Changes & Late Pick-Up

• Withdrawal requires 30 days’ notice; re-enrolling later requires a new enrollment fee. Permanent schedule changes need 2 weeks’ notice, and we cannot offer make-up, substitution, or temporary-change days.
• Late pick-up (after your program’s scheduled end, the 10-hour span, or 5:30 PM) is billed at $10 for the first 5 minutes and $1 per minute after — please call ahead if you’re running late.

Safety & Security

Doors are locked at all times; each family receives a personal key fob and visitors must ring the bell. Parents check children in and out daily with the lobby fingerprint system. Video cameras cover the building and every classroom, with secure family viewing access, and teachers keep daily records (meals, naps, diaper changes) that are emailed to you each day. For every child’s privacy, photos that include other children may not be shared on social media, and parents may not take photos or videos in the school. The center is a designated gang-free zone under Texas law.

Positive Discipline & Guidance

Discipline is individualized, consistent, and directed toward teaching acceptable behavior and self-control, using only positive methods: praise and encouragement, clear expectations, redirection, and brief supervised calm-down time (never more than one minute per year of age). Corporal punishment, humiliation, punishment tied to food, naps, or toileting, and all harsh treatment are strictly prohibited. Teachers treat challenging behavior as communication — observing, documenting, partnering with families, and building individual support plans when needed. Under Texas licensing, children under two have no screen time; older children may have at most one supplemental, education-aligned hour per day, never during meals or rest.

Health, Illness & Medication

• We cannot care for sick children. Children with a fever of 100.4°F or higher must stay home until fever-free for 24 hours without medication; uncontrolled diarrhea or vomiting requires 24 symptom-free hours with normal eating. Conditions like pinkeye, strep, impetigo, ringworm, chicken pox, measles, mumps, rubella, and head lice (we enforce a no-nit policy) have specific return-to-school criteria per the full policy.
• If your child becomes ill at school, we’ll contact you for pick-up; any concerns are documented and shared.
• Medication (prescription or over-the-counter) is administered only with a completed Medication Authorization form, in its original labeled container, exactly per the label, and only to the child it’s prescribed for.
• Current immunization records are required before care begins; children four and older receive state-required vision and hearing screening.

Emergencies & Notifications

In an emergency our first responsibility is moving children to a designated safe area — our alternate locations are DUA Trattoria (5225 Warren Pkwy) and Tom Hicks Elementary School (3651 Compass Dr). In a medical emergency we contact you immediately (then your emergency contacts, two of whom must live or work within 15 miles), and in extreme cases transport to the nearest hospital or call 911. You’ll always be notified promptly of injuries, illness requiring exclusion, communicable-disease or lice outbreaks, policy changes (in writing), and pest control (48 hours ahead). All staff are trained annually in preventing, recognizing, and reporting child abuse and neglect, as Texas law requires (confidential reports: 1-800-252-5400).