About our Pre-K

Philosophy

We strive to provide an environment that protects children’s health and safety, stimulates learning, and supports a child’s individual growth, while respecting their unique development. We are committed to providing a high-quality, play-based Pre-K experience that enhances each child’s holistic development. Children enter a safe, enriching environment, where they’re encouraged to explore and create, under the guidance and supervision of a nurturing, highly-qualified staff. Teachers work to promote positive self-esteem while simultaneously focusing on children’s social/emotional, physical, and cognitive development. We facilitate each child’s sense of agency by providing choice and offering opportunities for a variety of skill levels. Teachers provide learning experiences that align with the CT Early Learning and Development Standards (CT-ELDS) and follow with the Branford Pre-K emergent curriculum. Ongoing professional learning is provided to our teachers to help them refine their skills in all of these areas, ensuring that student needs are met to the greatest extent possible. 

We believe that a family is the child’s first and best teacher. We recognize the importance of diversity and understanding the families we serve in our community. Therefore, we are committed to family involvement, offering ways to participate in our programs without putting additional stress on busy schedules. Our goal is to work in partnership with each family to focus on the individual needs of their child. Frequent contact, family programs, and family events are some of the ways that we keep lines of communication open and help families feel included in our programs. 

Goals

Encourage children to make choices in order to actively participate in their own learning.

Provide a language-rich environment in order to expand children’s communication skills and ideas about the world. 

Provide a healthy and safe environment in order to promote optimal learning.

Develop children’s social skills in order to enhance their interactions with peers and adults, and promote their successful participation in the school community. 

Work cooperatively with families to encourage participation in their child’s Pre-K program/experience and facilitate a successful transition to the next level of education