Q: How old does my child need to be to enroll in your program?
A: For our Mom and Me program, your child must be 14 months by the first of October. For our 2’s in Training, your child must be 2 by January 30. For our 2’s, your child must be 2 by the first of October. The same goes for our 3’s and 4’s.

Q: Does my child need to be potty trained to enroll in the program?
A: We can’t expect our 2’s to be toilet trained. However, in order to go into our 4’s program, the child must be toilet trained. We change dirty diapers. We don’t change wet diapers unless they are soaked through.

Q: Do you provide before/after care for working parents?
A: Yes. Our 3’s and 4’s can take advantage of our early drop-off at 8:00 am - 8:15 am. Our 3’s have a choice to stay from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm and again from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (no later than 5:00 pm). Our 4’s afternoon session runs until 2:45. They can also stay in the aftercare program until 5:00 pm.

Q: Can I send my child to school with prescription medicine?
A: Yes, but in order for a staff member to give it to your child, a note is needed from the parent and the doctor.

Q: What time does car line start?
A: The car line begins at 8:50 am and ends at 9:05 am. The car line is for 3’s and 4’s only.

Q: Do I have to bring my 2 year old to the classroom?
A: Yes, the 2’s must be brought to the classroom each morning and picked up there as well.

Q: How late can my 2-3-4 year old stay?
A: The 2’s day ends at 11:30 am. However, you can extend the day 1½ hours in December for Dress for a Mess, ½ hour in January for Music, ½ hour in February for lunch, and ½ hour in March for Bible Buddies. Our 3’s have three different options: They can stay for the morning only until 11:30, they can stay for lunch until 12:15 or they can stay for lunch and the afternoon program until 2:00. The 4’s have the same 11:30 am morning option and 12:15 pm lunch option, however they can stay until 3:00 pm Monday through Thursday and 2:00 pm on Friday.

Q: Do I provide lunch?
A: Yes. It must be a dairy and nut-free lunch, no meat. On Mondays, we offer a Bagel lunch, (this starts for the 2’s in January) and on Tuesday and Thursday we offer Pizza lunch (3’s and 4’s only).

Q: How are we billed?
A: There are several payment options. You can pay everything at once. You can pay 60% by August and 40% by December, or you can pay monthly. We ask that if you pay monthly, we receive all the checks, dated the first of each month, at the beginning of the school year, and we do charge a 5% surcharge for monthly payments.

Q: How many children in a class?
A: It depends on the age of the child and the size of the room. For the 2’s, we have a maximum of 10 children in each class with two staff members. We actually have 3 staff members in our 2’s until the end of November to help the children adjust. We try to keep our 3’s at 12 or 13 children and our 4’s at 15.

Q: Do the children go on field trips?
A: The 2’s do not, they stay close to home. The 3’s do go on a few trips. They visit the dentist office for Dental Week, a farm trip in the fall, a Succah visit during the holiday of Sukkot. In the spring, the 3’s walk to the library and during the school year they participate in many programs that are brought into the school. The 4’s visit a farm during the fall and visit a Succah during the holiday of Sukkot as well. They also visit the Montclair Museum, the Montclair Planetarium, St Barnabas Hospital, Daughters Of Israel and the Caldwell Airport. They also participate in many programs that are brought into the school.

Q: How many children in the school?
A: There are about 150 children in total, but they do not all attend at once.

Q: How long has the current Director of your program been at the school?
A: Judy Tabs has been at the school since 1984.

Q: What is your staff turnover?
A: We have very little turn over. Most of our teachers have been here on an average of 17-19 years. Several of our teachers have been here 20 years or more. We have a professional, seasoned staff.

Q: Do the students celebrate the Jewish holidays?
A: Yes, we celebrate Shabbat every week. Each Friday, the Shabbat child’s family is invited to the classroom to participate in a wonderful Shabbat ceremony. The teachers rotate the schedule, so that each child has an opportunity to share this experience. We celebrate all the Jewish holidays and have special programs for Chanukah and Purim. We also conduct a beautiful and meaningful Seder for Passover.

Q: Do you have a summer program?
A: Yes, we have an eight-week program for our three and four year olds, either four or five days a week. The two’s may choose either a 6 or 8 week program, and the child can go anywhere from 2 to 5 days a week. Each of the weeks has a special theme and there are many special surprises. Our new state-of-the-art playground features a track, brand new equipment, and a built-in sprinkler system. The kids love to play and cool off on those hot summer days! All of our classrooms are air-conditioned. We also have a summer Mom & Me program.

Q: In what towns do most of the children live?
A: Most of our children are from West Caldwell, North Caldwell and Caldwell. We also have many children from the Montville, Pine Brook area, as well as from Verona, Essex Fells, West Orange and Livingston. Children from the surrounding towns of Fairfield, Roseland, Parsippany and South Orange also attend our school.

Q: If I want to speak to my child’s teacher, what should I do?
A: The teachers are always available to have an open dialogue with the parents. You are encouraged to call if you have a question. If the teacher is available at the time of the call, she can talk to you then. If not, she will call you back. We also have parent-teacher conferences in December and then again in May. Open communication is important to us.

Q: Can anyone pick up my child at the end of the day?
A: No. In order for someone other than the parent to pick up your child, you must send in a permission note. We also keep a list of all people who have permission to pick up your child. Proof of identification is requested if the person is not familiar to us. We are very strict about our pick-up policy, thus ensuring every child is safe.

Q: How do you handle food allergies?
A: Because of the abundance of serious peanut allergies among our children, Agudath Israel Nursery School is striving to be a peanut/nut free school. This means we try our best not to serve any snacks that contain nuts or are made on machinery that processes nuts. We also encourage the teachers to let the class know if a child in their class has any food allergy so that the other parents can check with them before bringing in snacks for the class.