2010 Parent Survey Results
Dear Families,
Thank for you participating in the New Horizon Academy Family Survey.
The New Horizon Academy team wishes to thank everyone who filled out our survey. The results were very positive, and your feedback will help us understand even more how our families view New Horizon Academy. The survey results help show us what you believe is working well and what needs to be improved. Below please find a brief summary of the results:
· 92% of the families who participated in the survey feel the center provides a safe, clean, and healthy environment for their children
· 89% of the families who participated in the survey feel the learning curriculum at our centers provides a wide variety of activities, with an appropriate balance between structured learning and creative learning experiences
· 88% of the families who participated in the survey are comfortable bringing any issue to the attention of their director or assistant director and feel their questions are answered in a prompt and courteous manner
· 93% of the families who participated in the survey feel their child's classroom is well equipped with a variety of learning materials and theme enhancements
· 91% of the families who participated in the survey would recommend New Horizon Academy to friends, family, and co-workers
Elk River Parade This Weekend
Our Elk River center will be participating in the parade tonight Friday, July 16th at 6:30pm. The parade starts on Main St. We hope to see you there!
Coloring Contest Reminder
Remember to turn in your coloring sheets to your director by July 23rd.
If you would like to print one please follow this link:
http://www.newhorizonacademy.net/downloads/coloringcontest.pdf
Pan O Prog Parade this weekend!!
Our two Lakeville locations will be particpating in the parade. The parade is on Saturday, July 10th at 5:30pm. It starts at the Lakeville Art Center: Holyoke and 210th. We hope to see you there.
Centers Closed on July 5th
Happy Fourth of July! Reminder: All centers are closed on July 5th. Enjoy your weekend!!
July Menu
We are excited to annouce a new menu for the summer months.
Click here to download the July menu
If you have any questions please see your center director.
First Impressions from recently enrolled families
All families who tour our centers have the opportunity to let us know their First Impressions of the center they toured. Here are a few from this week:
Burnsville: Paige gave my tour and answered all of my questions. The classrooms looked like a very fun place to be. The teachers were friendly, especially Courtney in the infant room!! Dee also helped Ginna feel welcome immediately.
Lakeville/Dodd: Amy was very nice and she gave me a good tour. The classrooms looked very clean and the teachers were nice and affectionate. I just really liked everything about this center!
Plymouth 494&9: Julie Bradford gave my tour and answered all of my questions. The classrooms were bright and interesting with lots of decorations and toys. The happy staff and happy children impressed me, too. The large vibrant classrooms and the longevity of the teachers at this location made a difference for me.
Plymouth 494&9: Trisha gave my tour and answered all of my questions. The classroom was a good size, brightly decorated, and inviting, and I loved that. It also seemed like an organized and warm space. The teachers were caring and friendly, too. The open and caring staff and the director inspired me to enroll.
Burnsville: Paige gave my tour and answered all of my questions. The classrooms were good. Lots of different learning areas and fun activities. The teacher was good, too. She seems like a happy and caring person. I liked everything, really. The activity board was nice because it sums up everything they are learning.
Bloomington MN Center: Michelle Goodwin gave my tour and answered all of my questions. The classroom looked like a fun place for kids with a lot of things for them to learn and play with. The teachers were friendly and looked like they were very good with the children. The structure of the classrooms and the healthy food and snacks being served were impressive, too.
Recalled Medication
FYI-Several Tylenol products as well as allergy medications were recalled this past weekend. Please click on the link for a list of all recalled medication.
http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/
June Menu Available
We are excited to annouce a new menu for the summer months.
Click here to download the June menu
If you have any questions please see your center director.
Editorial: Don’t cut early ed programs that work
Article in Star Tribune: April 13th, 2010
The new third-grade test scores in Bloomington are so impressive that they were discussed at high levels of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank last week. Third-grade alumni of a 2005 federally funded preschool reading program, all of them low-income students of color, very nearly matched the reading and math proficiency attainment of the district's students as a whole.
The same results showed that the usual "achievement gap" stubbornly persisted between middle-class, majority-race children and poor, minority-race children who were not among the 90 participants in the 2005 preschool, said Tom Holton, executive director of community education for Bloomington and Richfield public schools. But among the third-graders who were exposed to a high-quality preschool curriculum as 4-year-olds, the gap disappeared.
"We know what works" to improve learning and lifetime success, Holton said he told Fed senior vice president Art Rolnick, whose research has made him a leading advocate for quality preschool for at-risk kids. "We know how to do it and when to do it. We just need the political will to provide the funding to make it happen."
Sadly, that kind of will hasn't been exhibited lately at the State Capitol. Rather than looking for ways to extend the benefits of quality preschool to more impoverished children, lawmakers this year have been considering cuts in funding for licensed child care -- the places where a majority of Minnesota's low-income children receive their only exposure to preschool lessons.
As part of his plan to balance the state budget, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has proposed to cut $12 million from state support for at-risk preschoolers, shaving the rates the state pays to licensed child-care providers for enrolling low-income children and also the sliding-fee subsidies for working-poor families.
That may not sound like much. But for child-care providers, it represents a 5 percent cut in rates that have been frozen since 2001. That long-lasting freeze has taken a toll on the availability of licensed child care for poor children (see box.)
Pawlenty's proposal would mean that 900 fewer low-income families would qualify for child-care subsidies in the coming year and that 800 families would be charged higher co-payments, according to a coalition of early education advocates. That's not to mention the 6,000 families who are eligible for the subsidies now but are on a waiting list to receive them.
For Minnesota's future prosperity and competitive position among the states, Pawlenty's proposal goes in the wrong direction.
Minnesota ranks 38th among the 38 states that provide state funding for preschool programs, reported Arthur Reynolds of the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota at last week's "Minnesota's Future" forum at the Humphrey Institute.
It stands to reason, he said, that an achievement gap between Minnesota's middle-class and poor children is in evidence among kindergartners and persists through subsequent years of schooling. Statewide, 73 percent of Minnesota teens graduate from high school in four years; among low-income teens, the four-year grad rate is 52 percent.
Reynolds reported one other research finding that state lawmakers should note: Among various remedies for the achievement gap that have been scientifically examined, none has shown a more positive benefit-to-cost ratio than quality preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. All-day kindergarten doesn't come close.
Minnesota House leaders say they won't go as far as Pawlenty with permanent cuts. But the House's proposal eliminates $7.5 million in one-time funding that was set for reallocation to counties with the longest waiting lists for child-care help. The Senate has yet to reveal its early childhood intentions.
House leaders deserve a nod for sparing child-care providers from cuts that would have pushed more to close their doors to poor children -- and some to close their doors for good. But the legislators who are supposed to be stewards of this state's future are a long way from absorbing the message that results like those in Bloomington convey, and acting on it.