CHILDRENS VILLAGE
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Mission Statement
MISSION STATEMENT Children’s Village is a non-profit educating young and school-age children, current and future teachers, and families. Children’s Village is distinguished by teaching excellence, a comprehensive and holistic framework and its focus on inclusion and diversity. Working together with children, families and the community, we promote a society that is fair, compassionate and economically vibrant.
About This Cause
Children’s Village is a national model of excellence in early care and education. We have earned accreditation by National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) since 1996, the benchmark of quality, and are rated STARS 4A (the highest) by Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS initiative, measuring quality early learning programs. Only 14 percent of Philadelphia’s early education programs meet Pennsylvania’s high-performance standards. Our licensed Early Education Program serves up to 287 infants, toddlers and preschoolers, preparing them for kindergarten and ongoing academic success. Eighty-two percent are low income and 67% of the children speak a language other than English at home. The majority of our preschoolers—62% are enrolled in Head Start, which serves very low-income families. The Early Education Program operates year round, Monday-Friday from 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM. The Infant Program provides a safe, secure, warm and caring environment for babies to grow and thrive. The program serves infants ages 6 weeks and older with part-time or full-time options. There is one teacher for every four infants and the program adheres to the highest quality state and national accrediting standards. Play and nurturing relationships are at the heart of the active learning curriculum in the infant program. Inspired by the HighScope curriculum, the teaching team guides early experiences toward a lifelong love of learning, at each child’s individual pace. In close partnership and daily communication with parents, a consistent yet flexible schedule is followed to create an environment in which children feel loved and secure. The infant learning environment encourages movement, curiosity, exploration, and communication in all of its forms. The Toddler Program engages young children through stories, play, and music and movement activities. The Program promotes the development of self-identity and healthy self-expression and independence through beginning mastery of self-care skills. We have five toddler classrooms that serve 53 children, Monday-Friday, 6:30 AM-6:00 PM. The teacher/child ratio is 1:4 for young toddlers (13 - 20 months) and 1:5 for older toddlers (21 months-3 years). The Preschool Program curricula introduce skills and concepts reflected in local and national standards. Children actively explore and come to new understandings about themselves, their families and communities, and the world through classroom learning centers and coordinated thematic study. Our teachers implement one of two research-based preschool curricula, Blueprint for Early Literacy. In 2015, our preschool teachers implemented the Second Step Social-Emotional Learning program. Second Step is designed to help guide children to learn, practice, and apply skills for self-regulation and social-emotional competence. Integral to Children’s Village’s best-practice approach are our curricula-based assessments of children’s progress, which guides the curriculum and allows teachers to individualize instruction. Children’s Village has 13 preschool classrooms and can serve up to 260 preschoolers. The teacher/child ratio is 1:10. At Children’s Village we believe that the power of a high-quality EARLY education can level the playing field and make a marked difference in the lives of low-income children, while they are in school, and for years to come. Evidence gathered from years of research shows that children who receive a high quality pre-kindergarten education are more likely to arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and succeed. This positive trajectory continues throughout their lives: they have higher graduation rates, pursue higher education/career training, and secure higher paying jobs. The benefits of quality early learning are immense and long term and a smart investment in our workforce and economy. Every dollar invested in quality early education generates a $16+ return—the savings accrue from reduced costs for special education, public welfare, criminal justice, and other services. Quality early education programs prepare children to enter school ready to learn. School-Age Program: The School-Age Program provides year-round, academically focused out-of-school-time (OST) activities, including intensive literacy support, for at-risk children in grades k-7th. Our curriculum-based program includes: academic assistance, enrichment activities, social-emotional learning;, recreation/play, computer literacy, family involvement, and healthy meals/snacks. Experienced teachers, many with advanced degrees, staff the Program. Exciting programming keeps 150+ children fully engaged: 95% attend on a daily basis M-F, 3:00-6:30PM during the school year and 6:30AM-6:00PM during the summer and holidays. Our commitment to program excellence is unwavering. We adhere to the Core Standards for Philadelphia Youth Programs and the School-Age Care Environmental Rating Scale, and incorporate Project Based Learning. Integral to our best practice approach is assessment of children’s progress. Teachers use the results to impact classroom practice and instruction and ensure the best outcomes for children. The School-Age Program also has a comprehensive parent engagement component, including a Parent Education Series and translation and interpretation (Chinese, Indonesian) services for families. We continue to elevate programming by partnering with the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation’s Philadelphia Out-of-School-Time Literacy Initiative (POSTLI), SEI, Vynamic, the After School Activities Partnership, and the Clay Studio. Parent Engagement: The Parent Engagement Program engages Children’s Village’s economically and racially diverse parent population (and family members) in their children’s education and learning. The Program supports parents as their child’s most important teacher and provides access to information to support them in this role. Program components include a Parenting Education Series on topics relevant to early childhood issues and parenting; parent-teacher conferences; home visits for Head Start children; interpretation and translation services to facilitate communication, understanding and a working relationship between Chinese speaking parents and non-Chinese speaking staff; English classes for Speakers of Other Languages; and volunteer opportunities. Research affirms that meaningful engagement of families in their children’s early learning supports school readiness and later academic success. Special Needs and Family Support Program: The Special Needs and Family Support Program addresses the social and emotional needs of young children. The Program offers an integrative system of preventative measures that are designed to prevent typical age-related social-emotional issues from escalating into more persistent, problematic behaviors. Concurrently, the Program provides teachers and parents with effective interventions and strategies for working with children with challenging behaviors to promote the development of positive social skills and the child’s successful integration in the classroom. Early Learning Educator Development Program: The goal of the Early Learning Educator Development Program is to have well-trained and effective teachers in our classrooms to ensure that our youngest learners have access to and receive a quality early education that promotes school readiness and improved educational outcomes. The program objectives are to: 1) attract, retain, and develop professional, committed, and passionate early education teachers for our five Toddler and 11 Preschool classrooms and 2) increase and enhance the knowledge and skills of teachers by providing a wide array of professional development opportunities. Program components include new staff orientation by the Executive, Education and Family Services Directors, and Special Needs/Language Coordinator on a variety of topics; on-going opportunities for staff development and continuing education, and educational resources for teachers. Research shows that early educators who have access to additional educational and professional opportunities are more likely to incorporate new research findings into their work and to achieve career satisfaction. Professional development opportunities can expand participants' current knowledge of research on key issues in the field, such as learning environments, curricula, schedules, teacher-child interactions, and family engagement. By investing in our teachers, Children’s Village is helping to ensure that they continue to have the skills and expertise to foster positive relationships, rich language experiences, and quality learning environments so that children develop in a way that will promote their success in school and life. Professional Development Learning Lab: Children's Village's newest program development is the establishment of a Learning Lab professional development resource program for early educators across the city and region. We have completed renovations on two Adult Learning classrooms, developed a group of certified teacher trainers among our educational and family service staff, and piloted professional development trainings for toddler, preschool, and school-age educators, and for Early Care and Education (ECE) Directors and Administrators. In 2019, we completed Phase II of launching this unique program. All Children's Village educational staff have received advanced training in best practices and hosting adult visitors in the classroom. All classrooms have been upgraded to handle trainees, observers, and interns. Our entire program is available to Institutions of Higher Education, Quality Improvement Initiatives and others seeking training and education in a high quality ECE program that can demonstrate how ECE excellence looks, feels and sounds. Workshops are taught by our highly qualified and certified educators, accompanied by hands-on classroom observation. The Children's Village Learning Lab is the region's only training hub for education professionals embedded in a nationally accredited ECE program.