Curriculum-Based Learning
Clayton Early Childhood Center is not a daycare center; it is a school.
Our teachers aren’t babysitters; they’re professional educators, and they do more than keep your child safe, healthy, and happy while you’re away.
All of our teachers use the research-based Creative Curriculum in their classrooms. Developed by educational publisher Teaching Strategies, Creative Curriculum "support[s] active learning and promote[s] children’s progress in all developmental areas."
Teachers document each student's development and learning in a portfolio that travels with the child throughout his or her time at CECC and serves as a guide for future teachers.
Whether they’re working with infants, toddlers, or preschool-age children, our teachers think critically and reflectively about their lessons and their students. Lesson Plan are created based on the developmental needs and interests of the children in each classroom.
Teachers document their observations, both as a means of communication with parents, and as a method to assess children’s progress over the short and long term.
Parent-Teacher Partnership
As a CECC parent, we involve you fully in your child’s development and learning. This begins even before your child’s first day CECC, when one of his or her teachers will visit your home to meet your family and learn about your goals and concerns regarding your child.
CECC teachers provide formal and informal open communication with families, fostering respectful, reciprocal relationships which ensure continuity for children between home and school.
We also aim to support parents in their efforts, whether they are adjusting to parenthood for the first time, or have experience with older children.
Individual Attention
Clayton Early Childhood Center’s low teacher to student ratios allow us to provide personalized care and instruction for each of our students.
While all of our classrooms provide a structured framework as a basis for day-to-day activities, teachers are encouraged to develop their curricula to suit the children in the room, and to customize lessons to address what they observe throughout the school year.
The mansion at 1 Oak Knoll Park provides an ideal, schoolhouse setting for this kind of one-on-one, adaptive learning with access to the beautiful park surrounding our school.
Community Spirit
At Clayton Early Childhood Center, we believe in fostering relationships not only between parents and their children’s teachers but also among the families who are the mainstay of our school.
The Clayton Early Childhood Center Parents’ Organization(CPO) is integral to the mission of our school.
The organization serves as a support of teachers and parents to provide the best possible care and education for our children and ensure the continued growth of our school community.
The CPO organizes teacher appreciation events – one of its most vital roles. It also offers parenting seminars and community celebrations for school families.
As a CECC parent, you are automatically a member of the Parents’ Organization. That means we welcome your ideas and suggestions, and encourage you to take part in the life of our school.
That said, we know parents are some of the busiest people around. We welcome you to participate at a level that best fits your needs.
Long-term Relationships
Long-term relationships are at the core of the family-like atmosphere Clayton Early Childhood Center holds dear.
CECC offers a coordinated progression of care from six weeks to five years of age, allowing families to develop ongoing relationships within our school, and offering students a focused, stable, and nurturing early educational experience.
Children enjoy a sense of accomplishment as they move through our classrooms, following in the footsteps of the older children they know and admire. Siblings see each other in the halls and parents grow and learn together, alongside their children.
Thoughts from CECC Families
“For the past 7 and a half years, we have been dropping our daughters off at CECC and there isn't a single morning where we felt a moment of hesitation leaving our children in the CECC staff's safe, loving and kind hands. The school is our trusted partner and ally in parenthood -- every room teaches us something new and the teachers give us advice and tools tailored to the individual needs of our children. They take the time to get to know your child, and that shows with every passing day your child grows and thrives in the CECC community.
We are now seasoned parents, but we weren't 7 and a half years ago! If we were young (or expecting!) parents looking for an early childhood center today, these are some points we'd want to hear from CECC community parents:
· CECC fosters joyful, kind and inclusive learning. From infancy, CECC engages with children joyfully and encourages them to be kind friends and inclusive of others. We see these amazing characteristics in both our girls and we know the school was key in developing these characteristics -- our children learn by what they see and experience every day.
· CECC prepares children for the big, wide world beyond preschool. Our older daughter is nearly 8 years old and a 2nd grader in a local elementary school -- she was beyond prepared for kindergarten and we are so proud of the kind school citizen she is. We firmly believe that her time at CECC was integral to developing these wonderful characteristics.
· CECC builds long-lasting friendships and community. Even as a 2nd grader with lots of friends at her new school, our older daughter remains close with several classmates from CECC despite the fact that they're all at different schools, and we remain friends with those CECC parents!
Finally, during the pandemic, CECC has demonstrated an incredible amount of agility, while always staying focused on the health, safety and social-emotional development of our children. Its been an incredibly difficult time for everyone, but as always, the CECC community remains our constant and steady partner and ally in parenthood.
We could go on and on, but at the end of the day, we are so happy that our children have grown up (and one continues to grow up!) at CECC, and we highly recommend it for any parents of young children!” -The Baumann Family