Crispus Attucks             CHILDREN'S CENTER

Infant Programs

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  1 month to 15 months From the very first time we meet your babies our staff foster warm and positive relationships with them. We work with your babies to develop their sense of trust in the world and those around them. We create routines using our curricula* to help ease transitions and give your babies the focus and attention they need to develop gross motor skills, language, and socio-emotional growth. We use Creative Curriculum and the Active Learning Series. At Crispus Attucks Children's Center, we nurture and care for each child individually, helping them grow up strong and smart. Every day, our trained teachers guide children through a range of multi-sensory activities that help them learn, share, and most of all enjoy their childhood. From babies as young as one month to boisterous pre-schoolers up to age six, Crispus Attucks Children's Center is there to guide your child through all stages of their development. Find out more about the diverse, caring, and enriching experience we can provide for your child. CACC uses The Creative Curriculum (CC) assessment tool to measure infant/toddler developmental progress and make curriculum adjustments to address identified needs. It is a commercially-developed research-based tool for early education. Initial assessments occur at enrollment and at the beginning of each school year, and teachers develop a curriculum plan, which is reviewed in monthly team meetings to track progress in achieving milestones in four areas: social-emotional development, physical development, cognitive development and language development. Infants are evaluated formally five times a year and toddlers three times. We use the results of assessments of progress in these four areas to shape curriculum and instruction planning . In social-emotional development, CC evaluates infant/toddler progress in learning about themselves/relating to others. In physical development, progress/learning focuses on movement through basic gross and fine motor skills. Cognitive development focuses on progress/learning about the world/how things work, and language development on progress in learning to communicate/express. Teachers monitor progress in achieving milestones in classroom settings, record observations in each child's log book and make recommendations for interventions, as needed. A portfolio is maintained for each child that visually records mastery of tasks. Data are used to plan activities offering opportunities for each child to make developmental progress. Using the online version of CC allows head teachers and administrators to compare progress of all children in a classroom, to compare classrooms of similar ages, and look at the entire infant/toddler program to implement appropriate changes, supervision and training. For children not meeting age-appropriate goals, individual plans are created, identifying needs; establishing measurable support service objectives; designating service responsibility; and establishing documentation requirements. These plans are evaluated monthly, and are key to tracking progress in overcoming barriers and communicating with parents. Assessment results help pinpoint staff development needs, allowing coordinators to identify areas where teachers' skills need upgrading, and enabling us to target our staff training program or to encourage teachers to take college courses. Teachers must be able to use results of the assessments, teach the curriculum effectively, and be competent in meeting the developmental needs of infants/toddlers in order to maximize their progress. Assessment results are key to communicating children 's progress among teachers and to parents. Child progress is reviewed weekly by teachers and monthly by the Inter-Disciplinary Team (education coordinator, social service supervisor and early childhood mental health specialist). Parents receive classroom reports twice monthly. If special needs are indicated, there are frequent parent-teacher meetings to review the child's progress and the plan. ParentfTeacher conferences (4 infant/2 toddlers) provide progress reports. When children move within the program, the social service supervisor and education coordinator communicate each child's history to the new teaching team. Individual assessment files are securely maintained in classroom cabinets to ensure access to enter progress notes. Access to online assessment data requires a password. At the end of each year, all information is entered into a secure year-end document. Parent meetings are held in private.