Hamilton-White Child Development Center

COVID-19 Plan & Protocols (Updated 1/8/21)

The Hamilton-White Child Development Center is a place for your child to play, laugh, explore & love. Learning is what it is all about.

• Enrolls children from six weeks to five years old
• Operates on a 12-month basis in accordance with the University calendar
• Administered by a Director & supported by 13 staff members
• Employs 5 teachers, 6 assistant teachers & 2 part-time cooks for breakfast, lunch & snacks
• A teacher & assistant are assigned to each group of children
• The infant/toddler class has one additional assistant
• Staff members participate in workshops & in-service training sessions throughout the school year to complete 25 hours of staff development required by law per year
• All workers are considered teachers and are encouraged to design and follow an individual plan of study to gain knowledge and improve teaching practices
• Lab students in Child Development, work study students, & graduate assistants also may be assigned to work with groups of children for short periods of time in the day. Students are never left alone to supervise children

License

Hamilton-White Child Development Center is licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Periodic inspections are made by the Health Department to insure compliance with all health regulations and standards. An operator’s license is posted in the hallway at Bailey in compliance with guidelines from the licensing agency. A second license is posted in Ewing in the hallway next to the office of the Director.

Philosophy

The Hamilton-White Child Development Center believes:

• All children are special & unique & come to us with a wide range of experiences, abilities, interests & needs
• All children develop best & are more receptive to learning experiences in a comfortable, safe, secure, & supportive environment
• All children develop in 4 developmental areas: physical, intellectual or cognitive, social, & emotional
• Parents & center personnel have the responsibility to help the child become independent, self-controlled, confident & self-motivated to be prepared for formal education
• Children learn rapidly when the environment provides an abundance of language opportunities
• Regular communication between parents & staff is important for consistency with home experiences, & for staff to effectively understand & respond appropriately to a child’s behavior

A theme approach is used as an avenue for implementing the curriculum. Teachers use a child-centered approach as outlined in the Creative Curriculum.

5 Components of the Creative Curriculum:

• Child Development & Learning
  A child’s level of social/emotional, physical, cognitive & language development
  Characteristics & experiences that make each child unique
• Learning Environment
  Structure of the classroom that makes it possible for teachers to teach & children to learn
• What Children Learn
  How children acquire & learn skills through daily experiences
• Teacher’s Role
  Careful observations of children lead to a variety of instructional strategies to guide children’s learning
• Family’s Role
  Benefits of developing a partnership with every family and working together to support children’s development and learning

Along with the Creative Curriculum, we use Mississippi Pre-Kindergarten Curriculum in the 3-4 year-old classrooms.

The goals for this curriculum are to help children:

• Develop a positive self-concept
• Achieve intellectual growth
• Enlarge his/her world of people, experiences, ideas & things
• Increase competence & skills in reading, writing, listening, thinking, & speaking
• Increase the skills involved in physical coordination
• Increase competence in dealing with emotional feelings & social situations
• Increase competence in self-direction & independence.
• Develop cooperative, trusting relationships
• Develop his/her natural curiosity & creative potential

Each classroom (except the infant classroom) is set up with learning centers. Learning centers provide the students with opportunities for participation and social development as they explore each center together. Children are encouraged to visit each area daily.

• Art Center
  Provides opportunities for students to work with different media such as, paper, paint, markers, crayon, glue, scissors, pencils, etc. The process of working with the materials is what’s important, not the finished product. Teacher-directed and student –directed art activities are done daily. Art supplies are readily available each day for children to explore.
• Manipulative Center 
  Includes games, table toys, puzzles, etc. This helps to improve fine motor skills. Controlled movements of the fingers and hands help children to strengthen the muscles necessary for writing.
• Homeliving/Dramatic Center
  Allows children to role-play and explore through imagination. Helps children build vocabulary, as well as social skills needed for life.
• Literacy Center 
  This early exposure to books will help with pre-reading, vocabulary, and language skills.
• Block Center 
  This area helps children develop and control small muscles and fingers and hands. Children can learn to think, plan and solve problems.
• Science Center 
  Provides opportunities for cause and effect learning. Students can make observations, predictions, and try out possible causes. This area includes class pets, plants, sand/water and science manipulatives.

With the Director’s guidance, teachers use their knowledge of developmental levels to plan developmentally appropriate experiences to meet the interests and needs of the children. Not all children will be on the same developmental level. We accept each child where he is and build from that point. Lesson plans will be posted in each classroom.

Applications for enrollment of children (6 weeks to 5 years) are submitted to the Director of the Child Development Center.

Applications will be kept on file for one year. After the one-year time limit, a new application must be filed with the program director. It is the responsibility of the applicant to follow this policy, and to provide the center with accurate information. An incomplete application or one with incorrect information nullifies the application for enrollment purposes.
Upon receipt, applications are categorized by the five room designations. Within each age category, applications are prioritized by the date of receipt.

There is a $15.00 fee to submit an application and have your child’s name placed on the waiting list.

In order to be admitted to the program, parents must supply updated 121 immunization forms and sign a program contract. Contracts are valid for a full program year (August-July). A signed contract is an agreement to pay the program tuition in full. Parents are given the option to pay in full at the the beginning of the year, half balance by semester, or monthly installments over 10 or 12 months. Tuition payments are made by automatic bank draft by the 10^th of each month.