Pre-School Frequently Asked Questions

How do you develop the whole child?
At Brookridge, it is important that we guide the children as they develop a positive self-esteem at an early age. Through a nurturing academic program, the children form a foundation of self-confidence on which to further build life skills.

Do you use a specific curriculum?
Brookridge aligns the curriculum from age three through third grade. We utilize the Houghton-Mifflin Pre-Kindergarten Core Curriculum and the Handwriting Without Tears Curriculum. The Second Step program provides training in empathy, emotion management, and problem solving in partnership with parents

What kind of parent reporting system do you have?
The Parent Information Board, weekly classroom newsletters, and all-school monthly newsletters provide communication between parent and teacher. Progress in developmental skills is reported quarterly. Throughout the year, an overview of the child's school experience is provided through Parent Information Night, Open House and parent-teacher conferences. Conferences may be requested at any time throughout the year.

What occurs in my child's afternoon?
Following lunch and afternoon nap, children participate in activity rotations under the supervision of our qualified teachers and trained assistants.
At an additional cost, classes in dance, gymnastics, and creative movement are provided on campus by our activities director certified by the Dance Masters of America.
At five o'clock, we wind down the day throughout the school with "D.E.A.R." time - Drop Everything And Read! The preschool children enjoy listening to books read aloud, quieting them from a busy day as parents arrive for pick-up.

Do you offer year around care?
Our academic year runs from mid-August through the end of May. A ten-week summer care session is available to those who attend during our academic year.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding our Kindergarten Program

Do you use the same books as the surrounding school districts?
In 2004 we adopted the 2005 Houghton Mifflin Reading Series, as did the Blue Valley School District. This reading program meets the requirements of the Kansas State Reading Standards. The Houghton Mifflin Series is an all inclusive language arts program including reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, and a strong emphasis on phonics. Our math curriculum is driven by the Kansas State Math Standards which also meets the National Math Standards. It is carried out through the use of manipulatives making it a hands-on learning experience. Math and reading are integrated throughout all thematic units.

What kind of parent reporting system do you have?
Parent Information Night is held during the first month of the new school year. This group meeting provides parents with an in-depth look at our kindergarten program as they are invited to join our "Parents as Partners" learning team. Performance Based Reporting Cards are issued to kindergarteners at the end of each ten week quarter. Parent-teacher conferences are held at this time, as well. Conferences are held on Saturday to accommodate working parents. Parents are also encouraged to seek out and check concerns with the teacher on an ongoing basis. In addition, classroom newsletters are written weekly to inform parents of the learning objectives and highlights for the week.

How do the children adjust when their entry into public school is postponed?
The feedback that we receive from our neighborhood schools, both private and public, tells us that our students are well prepared academically and that they wear a special air of confidence. Brookridge students are known for their leadership, for their ability to think and speak for themselves, and for their ability to make a comfortable place for themselves in a group. Many of our students return to visit after they leave Brookridge to share their success stories with us.

How is class placement determined?
A number of factors are considered in selecting the most effective classroom for each child. We look at previous school experience, teacher recommendation, parent input, birth date, learning style, and the results of our kindergarten readiness screening. If your child is new to Brookridge we will administer the screening before class placement. It is our goal to discover the best placement for each student that will allow for maximum success.

Do kindergarteners take a nap?
Our kindergarteners are in a full day program and are not required to take naps. Following lunch they are divided into four groups for a variety of rotations including Spanish, Music, Physical Education, Art, Math Mania, and Science.

What are the strengths of your full day kindergarten program?

In addition to a quality academic program using a research-based curriculum, Brookridge focuses on life skills that help develop responsible and confident students. Brookridge has also developed a hands-on learning program utilizing a variety of manipulatives. These lessons allow the child to explore concepts well above his/her grade level, which stretch the brain, without restrictions. They are used daily in every classroom, regardless of age.

Our class sizes are small, with a low student-teacher ratio, allowing us to meet the needs of every child. Small class size also allows teachers the opportunity to build strong, positive relationships with each student.

Brookridge is both accredited by the Kansas State Board of Education and licensed by the Kansas State Health Department. Our elementary program is fully accredited through the Kansas State Board of Education following the successful completion of the requirements of Quality Performance Accreditation. This is the same accreditation process that the public school districts adhere to. Each teacher on our grade school staff holds a current Kansas license to teach elementary school with a highly qualified status. This accreditation and licensure allows us to provide quality education inside a program of total care.

Our before and after school recreation program is supervised by the same dedicated professionals that facilitate our classrooms. Our students benefit from this consistency in their care. When teachers and their students have the opportunity to work and play together, strong, positive relationships grow.

Student success is a team approach at Brookridge. The four kindergarten teachers work collaboratively on a daily basis to make the kindergarten program effective for every child. Parents are also an important part of our learning team and we value their contributions towards their child's success. The needs of the whole child are always considered and we use a variety of techniques and strategies to meet the individual needs of every learner.

What Do You Get in the Brookridge Kindergarten That You Don't Get Anywhere Else?

Before and after school care that is supervised by the same educators that work with your children during the day.

Teachers that facilitate the learning process before and after the academic day, providing additional instruction at no extra cost.

On average, 15 additional days of instruction in comparison to public schools because they are closed for conferences and in-services, when Brookridge is not. Our conferences and in-services are held on Saturday, or in the evening, to accommodate our working parents.

Child care available during informal sessions, winter break, and spring break.

Strength in individualized instruction and meeting children's individual needs.

An exceptional music program culminating in our annual Grade School Spring Program where every child holds a leadership role.

Every kindergartener reading during their kindergarten year and participating in the caterpillar reading program. This year the kindergarteners have read over 250 books to their teachers in a two week period.

Strong hands-on, visual discrimination activities, that promote problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Entire staff trained in and using Love and Logic behavioral techniques.

The Essential Curriculum used throughout the school as part of our classroom management strategies.

Our literacy program is aligned from pre-kindergarten to kindergarten as both use the Houghton Mifflin Reading Series and Handwriting Without Tears.

An opportunity to see your child's teacher daily.

Home style lunches prepared and served by our own Mrs. Thacker.

Longevity of teaching faculty and staff.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Our Grade School Program

Do you use the same books and follow the same curriculum as the surrounding school districts?
In 2004 we adopted the 2005 Houghton Mifflin Reading Series, as did the Blue Valley School District. This reading program meets the requirements of the Kansas State Reading Standards. The Houghton Mifflin series is an all inclusive language arts program including reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, and a strong emphasis on phonetics. Our math curriculum is driven by the Kansas State Math Standards which meets the National Math Standards. The math curriculum is supported by the Houghton Mifflin math text, our daily computation program, and a wide variety of manipulatives.

What kind of parent reporting system do you use?
Parent Information Night is held during the first month of the new school year to provide parents with an in-depth look at their child's academic day. Performance Based Reporting Cards are issued at the end of each ten week quarter. Following the first performance report parent-teacher conferences are held. Conferences may then be requested at any time throughout the year. Parents are encouraged to touch base with their child's teacher any time they have questions or concerns.

How do children adjust when their entry into public school is postponed?
The feedback that we receive from our local schools, both private and public, tells us that our students are well prepared and most often advanced academically. Brookridge students are known for their outstanding leadership skills and for their ability to think and speak for themselves. They leave Brookridge with an inner core of confidence that assures their future success.

What are the strengths of this program?

In addition to a quality academic program, using a research-based curriculum, Brookridge focuses on life skills that help develop responsible and confident students. These lessons and activities allow individual students to explore concepts well above his/her grade level that stretch the brain, without restrictions.

Our class sizes are smaller than those of public schools, with a lower student-teacher ratio, allowing us to meet the individual needs of every child. The lower ratio allows our teachers the opportunity to build strong and positive relationships with each student while individualizing their learning program.

Brookridge is fully accredited through the Kansas State Board of Education following our successful completion of the requirements of Quality Performance Accreditation. This is the same accreditation process that the public school districts adhere to. Each teacher on the grade school staff holds a current Kansas license to teach elementary school with a highly qualified status. We meet the standards for licensure by the Kansas State Health Department as well, bringing your grade school child a quality education, inside a program of total care.

The before and after school program is supervised by the same dedicated professionals that work with your children in the academic part of the day. In addition to being a well-supervised program, a number of after school activities and clubs are offered. Most importantly, one or more members of the administrative team are always in the building and available to lend support. Our students benefit from this consistency in their care. When teachers and their students have an opportunity to work and play together they build a strong and lasting bond that supports the learning process.

Student success is a team approach at Brookridge. The grade school teachers work collaboratively on a daily basis to make the learning program effective for every child. Parents are also an important part of our learning team and we value their contributions towards their child's success. The needs of the whole child are always considered and we use a variety of techniques and strategies to meet the individual needs of every learner.

Our grade school faculty takes great strides to meet the individual needs of our students. Students are challenged to take risks in our safe environment. Our teachers are known for designing projects and lessons that advance and expand the curriculum adding exciting challenges to the day. The students are encouraged to be critical and independent thinkers.

Do you know…?

What Benefits Do You Receive in the Brookridge Grade School That You Don't Get Anywhere Else?

Before and after school care that is supervised by the same educators that work with your children during the day.

Teachers that facilitate the learning process before and after the academic day, providing additional instruction and support.

On average, 15 additional days of instruction in comparison to public schools because they are closed for conferences and in-services, when Brookridge is not. Our conferences and in-services are held on Saturdays, or in the evening, to accommodate our working parents.

Child care available during informal sessions, winter break, and spring break.

Strength in individualized instruction meeting children's individual learning needs.

An exceptional music program, culminating in our annual Spring Program, where every child holds a leadership role.

Entire staff trained in and using Love and Logic behavioral techniques.

The Essential Curriculum used throughout the school as part of our classroom management strategies.

Our exclusive Safety Kids' Club promoting important life skills while encouraging students to think for themselves and make healthy and safe choices.

After school clubs, at no extra charge, facilitated by our classroom teachers, including technology, math, creative writing, reading, and science clubs.

A reading program that is aligned from pre-kindergarten through third grade using the Houghton Mifflin Reading Series.

The opportunity to see your child's teacher daily.

Advancement of the curriculum, within the classroom, to challenge and enrich our high- achieving students.

Longevity of teaching faculty and staff.