Commitment to Quality
FCDC’s early childhood education program is grounded in our commitment to fully preparing each child for Kindergarten and beyond. FCDC is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and earned a 4 Star Rating, the highest available, from Minnesota’s Parent Aware Quality Rating System.
Experienced Teachers
FCDC utilizes a team-teaching approach, employing 2 or 3 full time teachers in each classroom who share the responsibility of creating a safe, nurturing environment for children to learn and grow. Team teaching allows for more classroom stability, lower teacher to child ratios, greater program quality and less teacher turn-over; all of which are in the best interest of the children we serve.
Parent Partnerships
At FCDC, we believe that good parent-teacher relationships are the key to a successful program. We communicate with parents in a variety of ways to create strong connections between home and school. In addition to daily face to face communication, teachers also communicate throughout the day with photos and notes via our Lillio App. Parents are invited in for conferences twice each year or more often as needed.
Accredited Play-Based Curriculum
Our curriculum is based on the Creative Curriculum approach, which means activities, daily routines and teacher-child interactions are designed to teach to the whole child. Children are exposed to a variety of age-appropriate activities that support language development and mastery of cognitive concepts, assist in developing gross and fine motor muscles, and also learn valuable social and emotional skills. Learning activities alternate between teacher-directed activities and child-initiated discovery. Children learn through hands-on activities and social interactions. FCDC provides a nurturing environment for all children to develop, grow, and learn!
Research Based Assessment
FCDC teachers implement ECIPS and Pearsons assessment, which is aligned with the Minnesota Department of Education’s Early Indicators of Progress, to determine each individual child’s progress towards goals. Individualized learning activities are then planned to help each child meet his/her own potential.
Nurturing Classroom Environment
Our classrooms are designed to be developmentally appropriate, grouping children together who are in the same age and stage of development. The following principles guide our teaching in every classroom:
- Building a trusting relationship with each child
- Strong focus on social/emotional development
- Providing responsive, individualized care
- Creating environments that encourage exploration and discovery
- Ensuring children’s safety and health
- Developing partnerships with families
- Documenting children’s development in order to plan for each child
- Appreciating cultural, family, and individual differences
- Building a foundation for lifelong learning