PALS - Checklist - PALS Standards

Links

OSF Saint Francis

NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children)

Tumble/Boogie Bus

Everything we do at Pals is designed to help your child develop in to a happy, successful adult, from the way that we uniquely and individually greet your child each morning, to the program content and curriculum and how it is presented to your child. PALS curriculum is not only backed by sound research of brain and early childhood development, but it is also backed by years of research into success and human achievement. We have expanded upon normal curricula that is available and backed by research in order to weave in these skillsets and beliefs that successful people hold in order to imbue your child with these characteristics from an early age.

The fears and frustrations of choosing a child care center can be overwhelming at times. This checklist can help you relax and make a good decision.

Be sure to ask about these things during your facility tours

What procedures do you have in place to insure a warm and loving environment for my child?
From the moment that you enter our schools, you feel the warm and loving atmosphere of what it means to be part of the PALS family. We use techniques from Conscious Discipline that help children feel a part of their school family. In the morning, children are uniquely greeted with “Greeting Aprons” that allow for a connection to be made first thing between child and teacher. Many more connections are made throughout the day to ensure a warm and loving environment for your child.
What curriculum do you teach and why was it selected?
We do not have one certain curriculum that we use. Rather we have investigated several curricula and pull the best parts of these to use at PALS. Our framework is built around ideas from High Scope which include the four major parts of Plan Do Review, room arrangement, labeling, and the daily routine. These important elements and their purpose will be explained to you during your tour. Also from High Scope, are the objectives and key experiences that we use for lesson planning, which are developmentally appropriate and challenging for your child. Other important parts of our curriculum include the following: Conscious Discipline, Math Their Way, Language Arts Activities (whole language, phonics, and graphic organizers) and Virtues. PALS has a full time Curriculum Coordinator on staff that keeps abreast of new ideas in Early Childhood to ensure that PALS remains the leader in educating pre-school children.
How many years have you been teaching this curriculum and how is it scientifically proven to be effective?
We have been teaching many parts of our curriculum for over 20 years. We have been teaching Conscious Discipline since 2004. High Scope and Conscious Discipline are scientifically proven to be effective and have remarkable research behind them. Case studies and research about High Scope may be viewed at www.highscope.com. Brain research behind Conscious Discipline may be viewed by visiting www.lovingguidance.com.
What strategy do you use to ensure my child will have a strong self-image?
Everything we do provides a positive self-image for your child. When you walk through the hallways, you will be bewildered by the banners! Each child has a special banner that celebrates their gifts and uniqueness. At PALS, children learn early, how to set goals and achieve them. All of this will help your child be responsible for attaining his dreams later in life. Again, various Conscious Discipline techniques also help to build positive self-esteem, self worth, and self-image in your child. These techniques also help them build strong relationships with other children.
Do you provide pre-school evaluations to help me understand where my child stands before entering kindergarten?
Teachers keep portfolios and developmentally appropriate checklist for all ages. Twice a year, you are encouraged to view your child’s growth and progress during Parent/Teacher Conference Weeks.
What security measures are in place to ensure my child’s safety?
PALS has several safety measures in place to ensure the safety of our children, parents, and staff. The front door is always locked and each person entering the building must have clearance to be there. Once you enroll your child, you will be given a code that allows you to check your child in/out and opens the front door. We ask that you do not share this code with anyone. You are also asked to fill out a pick-up list of people that have permission to pick your child up. Further details of this policy are explained in the Parent Handbook. We also have high fences that surround our outdoor playgrounds. Each classroom is equipped with a camera and telephone. We also have a strict Visitor’s Policy that you may request while on your tour.
What is your emergency procedure plan?
We have emergency procedure plans for all of the following:
Disaster Plan
Snow Policy
Hostage Plan
Fire/Tornado
Earthquake
Emergency Evacuation
Terrorist Attack
Water/Electricity Contingency Plans
These are all available in the office for more information.
What elements of Conscious Discipline do you use?
We use all elements of Conscious Discipline. The following will be explained to you on your tour:
Greeting apron
Be a STAR!
Uniting Song
Calming and Connecting Activities
Job Boards
The language of Conscious Discipline.
Conflict Resolution Time Machine
The Safe Place
Routine
Do your food menus meet DCFS food regulations?
Yes, and we also go a step further by offering accommodations for vegetarians, religious purposes, allergies, and other special needs.
What are your teacher qualification requirements? Continuing education?
At minimum, all of our teachers are DCFS Teacher qualified with a minimum of 60 semester college hours and 9 hours being in Early Childhood. However, most of our teachers have education beyond that including Early Childhood or Child Development Associate Degrees and Early Childhood or Elementary Education Bachelor Degrees. We have a tuition reimbursement program that encourages our staff to always continue their education.
How long has your center been in business?
PALS has been educating children for over twenty years.
Are you NAEYC accredited?
We are proud to be NAEYC accredited. To learn more about what this means for our school, please visit www.naeyc.org.
Do you allow tours to prospective parents and do they include a classroom visit?
Of course! We highly recommend them so you can see for yourself our warm and loving atmosphere.

Download a checklist of your own

PALS has created a checklist you can download as an Adobe Acrobat PDF, print out and take with you. We've also checked each question already that PALS can respond affirmatively to, so you can have a good, across-the-board comparison of childcare providers. Download it here.