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Options for Learning

State Preschool

18455 E. RAILROAD STREET

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA 91748

Office:626-854-3449

Fax:626-854-3458

www.OptionsForLearning.org

Office Hours:

8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Monday-Friday

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OUR AGENCY’S MISSION AND VISION

Options for Learning’s mission is to be a leader in preparing children and

supporting families for life success through innovative, quality child development

programs. Our vision is that all children achieve their potential.

CLASSROOM CURRICULUM:

Options for Learning uses the High Scope Curriculum. High Scope is a researched

based curriculum fostering children’s creativity and independence. Children learn

best when they are engaged in active learning. The teacher’s role is to support and

guide young children through their active learning experiences. Your child will

participate in a variety of daily hands on activities.

PARENTAL ACCESS AND COURT ORDERS:

Options for Learning assures that the parents/guardians of enrolled children have

unlimited access to their child. You are always welcome to come into the classroom

for a short or long visit. For some families there is a court order or restraining

order which controls when and if a parent may access their child during school

hours. If this applies to you and your family, please provide a complete copy of the

court order so that our staff can adhere to the court order. Without legal

documentation, we are unable to prohibit a parent access to their child.

DRESSING FOR SCHOOL:

Children will have very active days at school. Dress your child in comfortable

clothing that allows them to move and play without being concerned about getting

their clothes dirty. To be safe while playing outside, it is best to send your child to

school in shoes that are not sandals. If your child wears a jacket or sweater to

school on cool days, be sure to label the jacket with your child’s name so it does not

get lost. It is important that children have an extra set of clean clothes to change

into if they get wet during an activity or during a restroom accident. We highly

encourage parents to check daily that their child has an extra set of clothes and

replace the extra clothes to be weather appropriate or if the child has outgrown the

clothes.

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ATTENDANCE:

For children to receive the full benefit of the program, they need to come to school

Monday through Friday. If your child is ill and unable to come to school, you must

call the center and inform the teacher about your child’s illness and when they will

be able to return to school. If we are unaware of your child’s absence, we will call

you to verify your child’s absence.

HEALTH CHECK:

For the safety and well-being of all children and staff, we highly encourage parents

to monitor their child’s daily health. Children should not come to school if they

have a fever or are not feeling well. Our staff will do an informal health check daily

when children arrive. If a child has a fever or appears to not be feeling well, our

staff will ask you to take your child home. If your child misses coming to school

because of a communicable disease, you may be asked to bring a note from the

doctor informing us that your child is well enough to return to school. If your child

had a fever, they should be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school.

If your child becomes ill while they are at the center, our staff will call you to come

and pick them up. If we are unable to reach you, our staff will call the other

authorized adults you have listed on your child’s emergency card and ask them to

come and pick up your child.

SIGNING IN AND OUT:

As a program, we abide by the Community Care Licensing regulations. It is

required that your child must be brought into the classroom and picked up from our

classroom by you or an authorized adult. The child must be signed in and out of our

program daily. On the sign in sheet, you will look for your child’s name, then you

will write down the exact time you brought your child into the classroom and sign

with your full signature. You will follow the same process when you pick up your

child.

All enrolling parents should list at least two other adults (at least 18 years old) who

can pick up the child in case of any emergency or when the parent is unable to pick

up the child. The listed authorized adults must have a photo identification with

them when they come pick up the child. No child will be released to an adult not

listed on the emergency card or to those listed but who do not have a photo ID with

them when they pick up the child.

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MEALS:

All children will receive one to two nutritious meals a day, depending on the length

of their class.

Menus are posted on the Parent Board in the classroom so you will know what your

child will be eating each day.

If your child has allergies to a specific food or cannot eat a specific food due to a

religious conviction or dietary restriction, you may request alternative meals.

Please complete a Request for an Alternative Meal form which can be obtained from

our division office. A doctor’s note or a letter from your religious leader specifying

what food your child cannot eat is required to make any food substitutions except

for milk substitutions.

INJURIES:

If your child is injured while in our program, our staff will assess the injury. A

report regarding the injury will be given to you. If necessary, the staff will call 911

and notify you immediately.

Our program provides secondary insurance coverage for children enrolled in our

program and who are injured while school is in session or during a school sponsored

event. The secondary insurance serves solely as supplemental coverage. To access

the insurance information please speak with our office staff.

All our teachers have taken a First Aid/CPR class and are trained to handle all

types of minor injuries.

DISCIPLINE:

For many children this is their first experience at school. Our teacher will be

working with all the children in the class to help them develop appropriate social

skills. When problems arise between children, our teacher will focus on helping the

children learn to talk about the problem instead of hitting, biting or other

inappropriate behavior. We ask all parents to support our efforts to teach

appropriate classroom behavior and to be patient when any child is struggling to

learn how to play in a group.

Options for Learning does not practice corporal punishment.

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CELEBRATIONS:

We strive to be sensitive to all the families in terms of holidays, birthdays or special

events. Any parent who wishes to bring a treat must first speak with the teacher to

ensure items brought to the program are store bought. We do not celebrate the end

of the school year with a cap and gown ceremony but will allow a small class

festivity.

It is important for children and families to celebrate special events and holidays.

During any celebration, we require that the daily routine is followed and that our

teacher uses the celebration as a learning experience.

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION:

Options for Learning does not provide religious instruction or worship for children

enrolled in our program.

NON-CLASS DAYS:

There will be times when there is no school. The centers are closed on the following

holidays: Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas, New

Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, and Memorial Day.

There are also times when the centers are closed for teacher trainings. If the center

is going to be closed, you will see a notice on the Parent Board and in the classroom

newsletter.

HEALTHY SCHOOLS ACT- PEST MANAGEMENT:

At the time of enrollment and annually, parents receive the Options for Learning

Annual Notification of Possible Pesticide document. This notification informs you of

the pesticides that could be used at your child’s center and our notification process

as per our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan, which is available on the

Options for Learning website and at the office.

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UNIFORM COMPLAINT POLICY:

Our clients have the right to file a complaint or grievance regarding alleged

unlawful or alleged violations of federal and state laws or regulations pertaining to

activities or deficiencies of program. Options for Learning has a Uniform Complaint

Procedure for clients currently receiving or applying for services to follow if filing a

complaint or grievance. A copy may be requested from any Options for Learning

Division Offices or from our Options for Learning Corporate Office 626-967-7848.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY:

Options for Learning is a private non-profit, equal opportunity agency offering child

care services to families regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender, ethnic group

identification, race, ancestry, national origin, religion, color, mental or physical

disability, or age, or on the basis of a person’s association with a person or group

with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:

We consider each individual child’s unique needs. In our program we support and

practice inclusion of children with varied abilities and we make specific adaptations

and accommodations that are reasonable and to the extent possible that does not

affect the operation of our program.

CONFIDENTIALITY:

Options for Learning is committed to protecting the personally identifiable

information of any child enrolled in our program. Personally identifiable

information may include but it is not limited to the child’s name, date of birth,

address, medical information, parent(s) name, family income, academic information,

mental health status, parents marital status, birth records or any document

containing personally identifiable information. Child or family information is

confidential whether it is paper based or is held in a secure program data base.

Family files are stored in secure file cabinets which are not accessible to

unauthorized staff or to the general public.

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Options for Learning may release information from child records in the following

circumstances:

• To facilitate the delivery of program services to the child

• To comply with an audit or program evaluation

• To address a disaster, health, or safety emergency

• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued court order

• To provide information to a caseworker or other representative from a state

or local child welfare agency

• To address suspected or known child maltreatment and abuse

STATE PRESCHOOL ELIGIBILITY:

The California Department of Education, Early Learning and Care Division,

determines the criteria for enrollment into the program.

To be eligible the family must:

1. Have a child who meets the age requirements

2. Live in California (5CCR Section18107)

3. Meet the state income requirements when family size is compared to

family income

OR receive cash aid (5CCR Section 18085)

OR are homeless (5CCR Section 18078, 18090)

OR have a child at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation or receiving

child protective services through the county welfare department (5

CCR Section 1807(c), 180921, 18078(1), EC 8263)

4. Provide appropriate documentation of a “need” for full-day/full year

services

The parent is responsible for providing all the required information and

documentation to determine eligibility. Options for Learning staff is responsible for

verifying the information prior to determining a family is eligible for services.

Families remain eligible for services for a 12-month period or for a school year, in

the case of part day State Preschool, as noted on the Notice of Action (NOA) parents

receive after enrollment or recertification.

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ADMISSION PRIORITIES:

The Department of Education, Early Learning and Care Division mandates that our

program serve low income families who are eligible for services in the following

priority (EC Sections 8235 (b), 8236, and 8263 (b):

1. Age eligible children receiving child protective services or who are at

risk of being abused, neglected, or exploited.

2. Age eligible children 4-year-olds not enrolled in transitional

kindergarten beginning with families with the lowest income.

3. Age eligible 3-year-olds beginning with families with the lowest

income.

4. Age eligible children whose family income is over the income eligibility

threshold (EC Section 8235 (d)

5. Age eligible children with exceptional needs, regardless of family

income (EC Section 8235 (d)

After all children have been enrolled pursuant to the above subdivisions, part day

CSPP, sites operating within the attendance boundaries of a qualified FRPM school

may enroll CSPP 4-year-old children whose families reside within the attendance

boundary of a qualified FRPM school without establishing eligibility (FC Section

826 (a)(1)(A). Once your child is enrolled in part day State Preschool, your child will

remain eligible for the remainder of the program year.

CLIENT RIGHTS TO DUE PROCESS:

If you disagree with an action Options for Learning State Preschool is taking as

stated on a Notice of Action, you may appeal the intended action. Instructions on

how to appeal a Notice of Action (NOA) is specified on the back of the form and mist

be adhered to.

STAFF QUALIFICATIONS:

The Options for Learning staff are committed to providing a high-quality program

in safe, well supervised environment. Our teaching staff have completed

college/university coursework related to the field in Early Childhood

Education/Child Development. They have a wide variety of teaching experiences.

The staff will facilitate active learning by providing challenging and enjoyable

activities to foster the development of each child.

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Our Teaching staff have Bachelor of Art Degrees or Associate of Arts Degrees in

Child Development or Early Childhood Education as well as a Child Development

permit issued by the California Commission on Teaching Credentialing.

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HEAD START-SOUTH EL MONTE 1130 N. Potrero Ave.

S. El Monte, CA 91723 (626) 459-4299

HEAD START-PASADENA 464 W. Woodburry Rd., Suite #210

Altadena, CA 91001 (626) 204-8900

HALF /FULL DAY & HOME BASE PROGRAM FOR 3-5 YEARS OF AGE

FULL-DAY PRESCHOOL PROGRAM 885 Village Oak Dr. Covina, CA 91724

(626) 858-0527 FULL DAY PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN 3-5 YEARS OF AGE

SURROUND CARE 304 S. First St.

Alhambra, CA 91801 (626) 284-9935

BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE FOR KINDER-6TH GRADE

CHILD CARE RESOURCE & REFERRAL-BALDWIN PARK 13100 Brooks Dr., Suite #200

Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (626) 856-5900

CHILD CARE RESOURCE & REFERRAL-PASADENA

2465 E. Walnut St. Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 449-8221REFERRALS FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS & ALTERNATE

PAYMENT PROGRAMS

ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

885 Village Oak Dr. Covina, CA 91724

(626) 967-9337 AFTER SCHOOL CARE FOR 1ST-8TH GRADE

EARLY HEAD START

885 Village Oak Dr. Covina, CA 91724

(626) 732-0130 INFANT/TODDLER PROGRAM

AGENCY DIVISIONS

Rev 04/26/2021