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 you 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 8:00AM-8:15AM. Our 3’s have a choice to stay from 2:00PM-3:00PM and again from 3:00PM-5:00PM (no later than 5:00PM). Our 4’s can stay from 3:00PM-5:00PM.

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 8:50AM and ends at 9:05AM. The car line is for 3’s and 4’s.

Q: Do I have to bring my 2 year old to the classroom?
A: Yes. The 2’s must be brought to the class and picked up in the classroom at the end of the morning.

Q: How late can my 2-3-4 year old stay?
A: The 2’s day ends at 11:30AM. However, you can extend ½ hour in January for Music, ½ hour in February for lunch, and ½ hour in March for Bible Buddies.

Our 3’s can stay until 2:00PM or leave at 11:30AM or stay for lunch until 12:15PM. The 4’s have the same 11:30AM morning option and 12:15PM lunch option. However they can stay until 3PM Monday through Thursday and 2:00PM on Friday.

Q: Do I provide lunch?
A: Yes. It must be a dairy lunch- no meat. On Monday we offer a Bagel lunch and on Tuesday and Thursday we offer Pizza lunch.

Q: How are we billed?
There are several payment options. You can pay everything at once or 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 at once 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 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 also visit a farm during the fall and visit a Succah during the holiday of Sukkot. 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 but they don’t all come at once.

Q: How long has the current Director of your program been at the school?
A: This is Judy’s 23rd year.

Q: What is your staff turnover?
A: We have very little turn over. Most of our teachers have been here on an average of 15-17 years. Several of our teachers have been here 20 years and more. We have a professional seasoned staff.

Q: Do the students celebrate the Jewish holidays?
A: Yes, we celebrate Shabbat every week with each child being the Shabbat child on a rotating basis. We invite the child’s family to the classroom when they are the Shabbat child and we have a lovely Shabbat ceremony.

We celebrate all the Jewish holidays and have special programs for Chanukah and Purim and 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 between 2 days or 3 days a week for either 6 or 8 weeks. It is a fun program with many specials. The children may either be outside in our large well-equipped playground or inside in our air-conditioned classroom. We also have a summer Mom & Me program.

Q: In what towns do most of the children live?
A: All over. Most of our children are from the Caldwells-West Caldwell, North Caldwell and Caldwell. We also have many children from the Montville, Pine Brook area and from Verona, Essex Fells, West Orange and Livingston. We also have children from the surrounding towns of Fairfield, Roseland and Parsippany and South Orange. To sum it up, the children come from all over.

Q: If I want to speak to my child’s teacher, what should I do?
A: The teachers are always available to talk to 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 January and then again in May. Open communication is important to us.

Q: Can anyone pick up my child at the end of the day?
No. In order for someone other than the parent to pick up your child you must send in a permission note. We also keep on file a list of all persons you give permission to pick up your child. Proof of identification is asked of the person who is responsible for picking up your child if he/she is not familiar to us. We are very strict about our pick-up policy making sure every child is safe.