Early Learning and Family Resource Center

Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) provides parent/child classes available to all families in the community and because it is a partially statefunded program, fees are affordable so that all families are able to participate. ECFE is a popular early childhood program unique to Minnesota school districts and provides a wide range of services for families. ECFE strengthens the local community by providing support and education to families with young children in order to build strong parent and child relationships, help parents be the best parents possible and prepare children and families for the K-12 school experience. The Way to Grow class catalog is sent to all homes of district families with children birth to five, it lists all class options available. You can also find the catalog on the district website, click on Schools and Early Learning. Free home visits are also provided to families who live in the district. The program is located at Pilot Knob STEM Magnet School in Eagan and the Early Learning and Family Resource Center in West St. Paul.

Community Preschool is a fee-based preschool program for three and four year old children and is available for all children living in our district community. Some financial assistance is available upon request. Program locations include: Early Learning and Family Resource Center, Moreland Arts and Health Science Magnet School, Pilot Knob STEM Magnet School.

Early Childhood Screening provides a free overview of your child’s development. The best possible time to have your child screened is at 3 years and before their 4th birthday. During screening a coordinator will check: hearing, vision*, immunization records, cognitive and motor skills, speech/language and communication and social/emotional development. You will be provided with information on your child’s development, kindergarten readiness as well as other community resources. To make an appointment call 651-403-8390 or email larae.dufresne@isd197.org to schedule online. Located at the Early Learning and Family Resource Center.

*While screening helps the district identify children who may benefit from available community resources, vision screening, while helpful, is not a substitute for a comprehensive eye exam.

Early Childhood Special Education services are provided for children birth through Kindergarten in our district community. If you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s development, please call: 651-403-8390. Located at the Early Learning and Family Resource Center and Pilot Knob STEM Magnet School.

We welcome you to experience the high-quality programming that our early learning programs have to offer families in the School District 197 community.

Locations include:
Early Learning and Family Resource Center 651-403-8390 1970 Christensen Ave. West St. Paul, MN 55118

Pilot Knob STEM Magnet School 651-403-7900 1436 Lone Oak Rd. Eagan, MN 55121

Please call 651-403-8390 for all early learning questions.

Monthly Parent Meetings (Early Learning Advisory Council) Parent meeting will be held monthly. The purpose of the meetings is to get parent feedback and provide information on early learning programs. Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of the Month in October, November, January, February, March, and April. You can attend the meetings virtually or in person. They are held at the Early Learning and Family Resource Center at 6:00 p.m.

We welcome parent volunteers in our classrooms. Please contact your child’s teacher for information on volunteer opportunities. Parent Newsletters and Conferences Our preschool classrooms provide the opportunity for parent involvement through periodic parent newsletters and conferences. Dates of conferences are in the calendar at the end of this document. 

Our preschool classrooms provide the opportunity for parent involvement through periodic parent newsletters and conferences. Dates of conferences are in the calendar at the end of this document.

If you haven’t had a chance to try ECFE, check out the various types of classes provided both day and evening. ECFE is a unique and popular program that provides parents and children the opportunity to participate in learning-rich activities together. Parents also have the opportunity to participate in group discussions with other parents and a licensed parent educator. Please call the Early Learning office or visit our district website if you are interested in more information. If you are attending ECFE classes, parent/child time in the classroom is most beneficial when: You arrive on time to have time to participate in all the activities your child is sure to enjoy doing with you. Follow their lead; let your child guide you to the activities that are of interest to them. Activities are designed to provide a special time for you to focus on just your child and their interests, children will enjoy having mom or dad’s undivided attention during this time. Ask your child open-ended questions about what they are doing to help them be critical thinkers.

Snack is an important learning time. As a result of recommendations by the Minnesota Department of Health we will provide snack and meals in the following ways: All adults will be gloved during food preparation and distribution. All food for meals will be prepared in the cafeteria and brought to classrooms. Students will wash their hands before and after snack. Tables will be sanitized before and after snack. Your child’s teacher will provide ideas for nutritious snack donations. Please do not bring cookies and other sugary snack donations. All of our classrooms strive to be “nut-free”; any food containing or processed with nuts is prohibited. A specific nut-free snack list can be provided by your child’s teacher. State law prohibits serving any food that is prepared at home. All food must be commercially prepared and brought to school in unopened packages. We will provide the opportunity to taste fruits and vegetables. We ask that you support our nutrition initiative by providing healthy foods or non-food treats at birthdays. (Please ask your child’s teacher for a listing of fun and healthy celebration ideas if you wish to bring in something for your child’s birthday). Please let your teacher know if your child requires a special diet that does not fit with our nutrition policy. We will accommodate a child’s need for a parent to bring in foods to meet special dietary needs. Staff members will allow children to decide how much to eat. Children are never forced to eat or try new foods.

We will provide children the opportunity to be physically active during each class time. Outdoor play is an important part of your child’s day and total health. Please dress your children appropriately for the weather as we are committed to providing outdoor activities as weather permits. We provide portable play equipment (wheeled toys, balls, hoops, and ribbons) that is diverse and available for children to use at the same time. We make outdoor portable play equipment freely available to all children. Indoor play space is available for all activities including running when weather does not permit outdoor play.

Children who are symptomatic should NOT be brought to classes OR to sibling care. This includes school-age siblings. Included is a list of symptoms to help you decide when to attend classes. In addition to exposing other children to contagious diseases, many expectant mothers and their unborn fetuses are also very vulnerable to disease. If the staff feels that a child is too ill to be at school, the parents will be asked to take the child home. Please do not bring your child to class if they are showing signs of:

Pink Eye: Eyes appear red with a discharge. Child needs to be treated with an antibiotic for 24 hours prior to returning to class.

Chicken pox: Lesions need to be crusted over (5-7 Days). Please notify staff when child has developed this disease. Fever: Axillary or oral temperature of 100 degrees or higher during the 24 hours prior to class. Eye/nose drainage: A new cold of less than 3 days where there is thick green mucus draining from the nose, unless your child has a documented condition such as allergies.

Respiratory Symptoms:
Difficult, rapid breathing or severe coughing. The child makes high-pitched croupy or whooping sound after he/she coughs.

Diarrhea:
Stay home for 24 hours after last episode. Vomiting: Stay home for 24 hours after last episode.

Vomiting:
Stay home for 24 hours after last episode

Skin:
If sores are present and are open or if the child is diagnosed with Impetigo, treatment with antibiotics for 48 hours is required before returning to class. If there is unusual scratching of the body or scalp or if head lice have been diagnosed, treatment should be completed 24 hours prior to returning to class. Please notify the staff if your child has head lice. 

All parents are required to complete an emergency form for each child coming into our schools for a program. This form is kept on file for reference in case of an emergency.
Please indicate any special health concerns/allergies on your emergency information.

Please notify the early learning office if your child has special health needs that may require individualized accommodations or considerations. Minor injuries will be handled by the staff when the parent is not present.

Parents/guardians are informed of any accident/incident involving their child. In case of a minor injury, health professionals administer first aid and complete a Student Accident/Incident Form. Parents can request a copy of the incident report if they would like. In case of a serious accident, families are called to take their child for medical attention. A Student Accident/Incident Form is completed and available to parents on request. In case of a life threatening emergency, 911 is called. Paramedics determine whether the child needs further treatment or needs to be transported to the hospital. The family is notified immediately and is responsible for all medical charges. If we are unable to reach parents, we will contact the emergency contacts listed on the child’s emergency form.

There is a health professional at each school available to administer medication if needed. A doctor’s note with instructions needs to be provided before medication can be given at school. Epi pens are stored in the nurse’s office and administered by the health professional. Once staff administers emergency medicine, such as an Epi pen, it is district policy that staff will also call 911. If your child has special medical concerns that require medicine distribution, please notify the Early Learning office in order to have appropriate district health staff available if needed.

Children in our Three School and PreK preschool programs are required to be potty trained. We ask that ECSE and ECFE families use designated diaper changing areas when diaper changing. Classroom teachers can direct you to these areas. Please follow the cleaning directions after utilizing the area. If you are participating in an ECFE class, please remember to bring diapers, sanitary wipes and a change of clothes for your child.

State law requires immunizations upon enrolling in public school programs. Parents may obtain a legal exemption from the law for medical reasons or conscientiously held beliefs. Call your doctor, clinic or health plan for more information. Immunization information must be submitted at the time of registration. Immunizations are required for students attending in-person classes.

Attendance
We ask that you please call and leave a message or email your classroom teacher if your child will not be in class in any of our programs. If you decide to leave the program, please let us know because there are often waiting lists for classes. Consistent attendance is a requirement when receiving financial assistance.

Cell Phones
Please turn all cell phones off or to vibrate to minimize classroom distractions when volunteering in your child’s classroom or participating in an ECFE parent education class. Thank you in advance for waiting to answer/make calls or text until after class has ended.

Child Abuse Reporting
Early learning staff are required by law to report any suspected child abuse or neglect to Dakota County Social services. A process by staff is followed as established by the county and the early learning programs.

Class List Permission
Parents sometimes find it helpful (carpools, play dates, etc.) to have names and contact information of others in the classes your child is attending. Please indicate to your classroom teacher if you do not want your name and information included on class lists that may be provided to classmates.

Curriculum
Our preschool programs lay the foundation for future school success by encouraging personal, social and physical development, language development and pre-reading and pre-writing skills. Our programs follow the Minnesota Early Childhood Indicators of Progress standards for children’s optimal holistic development. Our 3 and 4 year old programs provide alignment with the district’s K-4 programs. Big Day for Pre-K and Conscious Discipline are used to provide comprehensive instruction in all developmental areas. If you are interested in viewing our curriculum, please talk with your classroom teacher. In addition, our Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) parent education is guided by the Minnesota Parent Education Core Curriculum Framework.

ECFE Participation
Due to Minnesota State Statute regarding ECFE participation, children must attend with a parent or relative. Relative is defined as a non-custodial grandparent or other persons related to a child by blood, marriage, adoption, or foster placement.

Our early learning programs have fee assistance options for our various programs. Please call the early learning office at 651-403-8353 if you would like to attend an early learning class or event, but may need fee assistance. Preschool fees are due on the 1st of the month, September-May. The registration fee is due upon registration. Payments made after the 5th of the month may include a $10.00 late fee. If a payment is missed, you will receive a notice from our office. Continued missed payments, without an attempt to make payment arrangements, regrettably will result in your child being withdrawn from the program. If you are experiencing a hardship that is making it difficult to make pre-arranged preschool payments, please contact our early learning office in order to assist you.

This year we will provide curbside pickup and drop off of students attending our preschool classes. Preschool students attending Pilot Knob will be picked escorted to and from their vehicles. At the Early Learning Center, parents will be asked to display the room number of their child’s classroom on their dashboard or visor. The parent will help the child from the vehicle and a staff member will escort them to their classroom. At the end of class, the child will be escorted to your vehicle. Cars will use the south entrance to the parking lot (by the gas station). Cars will drive around the back of the building and pull around by the playground so you are facing Christensen Avenue, parking parallel to the sidewalk.

Drop off times will be: 9:25-9:30 for morning classes and 1:10 to 1:15 for afternoon classes.

Pick up times will be: 11:55-12:00 for morning classes and 3:40-3:45 for afternoon classes. I

f you arrive late for class you will need to park and walk your child to the office. At both sites, ECFE families will enter the door closest to their classrooms. A staff member will be at the door to greet you.

Extended day families will escort their child to the middle doors. A staff member will be there to greet you and escort your child to the cafeteria for the extended day program. If a staff member is not at the middle door you can call 651-403-8385. Please do not park and leave your car in emergency vehicle areas in front of the schools. We ask that if you are planning to leave your vehicle, please park in a designated parking area. We ask that you do not leave young children unattended in cars in our district parking lots while picking up older children, etc. Leaving children unattended in cars is a safety concern for all district staff and the concern has been raised by both district staff and parents attending the programs. Please make sure that your children are safely with a district staff member working in their classroom before your departure. We ask that you arrive and pick-up your children in a timely manner to minimize distractions and respect teacher’s time.

Late Drop off and Pickup for Preschool Programs Policy

1. If an emergency situation has developed and you know you will be over 5 minutes late and cannot make other arrangements, please call your classroom teacher. If they do not answer, please leave a message with where you can be reached and if you have made alternative arrangements for pick up.
2. A late pick-up over 5 minutes without a call will result in a reminder letter from the teacher of the policy. After 2 late pick-ups you will be charged a $10.00 fee for every 10 minutes you are late. This fee will be automatically added to your monthly tuition. More than 3 late pick-ups may result in a suspension of services. If we are unable to contact you or someone on the emergency contact list 30 minutes after the pick-up time, the police will be called.
3. Repeated late pick-ups with or without a call may result in suggestions for other preschool programming that will better fit into the parent’s schedule.
4. We ask that students arrive on time so they can participate in all morning routines. Please let the teacher know if your child will be late for class. If your child is arriving late on an ongoing basis a meeting will be requested to suggest other preschool programs that may be a better fit.

At the time of enrollment parents must provide the names of persons authorized to pick up the child. Children will not be released to unauthorized adults without contacting the child’s teacher and all children must have an adult accompany them at drop off and pick up.

In the event of an emergency please notify your child’s teacher if you are asking another adult other than the child’s parent, to pick them up from school. It is the parent or guardian’s responsibility to inform the teacher of any changes in the names of person’s authorized. We will ask for a picture I.D. before releasing the child to an unfamiliar adult.

Early Learning staff are professionally trained to understand the behavior of children at different stages of development. The program’s policy on guidance is based on respect and positive interactions. Emphasis is on fostering self-esteem and cooperation. Self-discipline is the goal.

On occasion district communications or the Early Learning programs will take pictures for the purposes of catalogs and other publications. The Early Learning program makes the policy that children’s names are not released with published pictures. If you do not want your child’s picture taken please send a written letter to your child’s teacher or complete the district's Directory Opt Out Form here. These letters will be kept on file in the Early Learning program office and teachers will note parental preferences

Children often have feelings of anxiety adjusting to new situations and it is a normal part of their development, which may reappear at various times during the preschool years. We offer the following suggestions to make transition easier for you and your child: Provide staff with information about your child that will ease the separation and consider providing a comfort item. If possible, leave with other parents and even though children may show some distress, give them a quick good-bye versus sneaking out. Separation is a time where children are learning to trust a routine of leaving and returning and once they are aware that you may leave without telling them, it can cause more anxiety.

If school closes early due to inclement weather, our staff will be on site. They will attempt to contact every parent whose child is enrolled for that afternoon; however, you will need to pick up your child as soon as possible after school is dismissed.

If School District 197 schools are closed for any reason (heavy snow or extreme icy conditions, poor driving conditions), all early learning programs will be cancelled. Tuition is not reimbursed due to the cancellation of school. Information on school closings can be found on the district website.

We are required by Minnesota state law to have 5 fire drills, 5 lock down drills and 1 severe weather drill per year.