Curriculum
Philosophy
We believe that children learn best when they are free to engage in activities of their own choice in a well-ordered multicultural, physical environment. This self-directed process allows our children to freely emerge as bilingual according to their own true nature. The home language of all children is respected and promoted. Through socialization and classroom activities using a 50-50 dual language model, children are afforded the opportunity to learn English and Spanish.
The SED Center has designed a nurturing, creative world for children to help their minds and bodies develop. Our program provides the right environment and experiences to meet the child's rapidly developing abilities. Our program emphasizes the importance of positive, supportive interactions between our teachers and children. Our teachers sing, read, and talk to the child to help him/her with this critical development. Age-appropriate activities promote cognitive and social development in a warm environment. The staff works with parents to make a smooth transition into our program. We are committed to creating a strong bond with the child to ensure the best start in life. We want our children to feel as happy and "at home" as possible. The SED Center understands that the first five years of a child's life is an amazing time of growth and learning that serves as the foundation for future stages of development. Curriculum
Our Children's Program is primarily based on the HighScope Curriculum and the ALERTA Multicultural Bilingual Preschool Curriculum, which are both bilingual and multicultural approaches to early childhood education.
Infants and Toddlers The HighScope Curriculum for working with infants and toddlers is based on the following:
Our teachers lovingly, consistently, and creatively support children's natural desire to be active learners. When creating an active learning environment for infants and toddlers, our teachers consciously consider all children’s needs: their social and emotional needs for security and companionship; their physical needs for nourishment, bodily care, rest, movement, and safety; their cognitive needs for opportunities to make choices, explore interesting materials, and try out a range of challenging experiences; and their sociolinguistic needs to communicate their desires and discoveries to responsive caregivers and peers. Preschool Our preschool curriculum utilizes principles from both the HighScope and ALERTA curricula. The ALERTA curriculum teaches children positive aspects in cultural similarities and differences, and also helps foster respect towards those with different cultural backgrounds. The students also benefit from a curriculum that stimulates a positive self-concept and develops bilingualism in all aspects of their learning. The HighScope curriculum for preschool children concentrates on stimulating cognitive development through learning activities and materials that foster logical reasoning and readiness in math, language and science. Our preschool instruction also incorporates the Early Reading Program developed by Dr. Robert Lado, of Georgetown University. This program establishes basic literacy in both Spanish and English by the time children graduate from the program A Bilingual Education
Our focus in bilingual education is in two primary language groups: English and Spanish, and our goal is to have the students learn each other's language at the same time they continue to improve their own. This learning is facilitated by a secure and caring atmosphere, where concepts are first learned in the first language and then transferred to the second language when mastered. By being continually exposed to two different languages, children begin to feel comfortable in hearing and using both, and bilingualism is gradually developed and mastered.
Our approach to multicultural education stems from an emphasis on healthy contact between diverse cultural groups in the classroom setting, and special goals and objectives designed and developed to promote respect and recognition of each child's cultural background. The SED Center has integrated all these different yet complementary programs into a unique, developmentally sound, and comprehensive approach to preschool education. Assessment
The SED Center is committed to assessing each child's progress throughout our program.
Infants and Toddlers We use the HighScope Infant/Toddler Child Observation Record (COR), which enables teachers and administrators to assess each child's progress and plan educational experiences that will encourage further learning. This assessment is designed to coordinate with the High/Scope Preschool COR. “Work samples” or products and evidence of children’s work are collected and placed in each child’s portfolio. The portfolio is a record for each child in the classroom that includes:
In addition, our children with special needs have an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individual Education Plan (IEP) that we use to direct our Special Needs staff and teachers on how to serve these children in an inclusive classroom. Preschool Our preschool students are assessed continually during the program year using the HighScope Preschool COR and their progress is documented individually and as a group/class in order to help teachers observe the different levels of progress of all the children and plan goals and objectives for their group accordingly. In addition to this assessment, children are given the Carolina Test (Spanish/English version) each year to assess their continuous progress during SED’s four year program and to observe and provide special attention to children who may have special learning/emotional needs. |
