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FAQs Q1) What is the Downing Street Cooperative Playgroup? A1) The Downing Street Playgroup is a cooperative preschool founded nearly forty years ago by a group of parents concerned with their children's education. We have programs for children aged 2-4. Parent participation is an integral part of the success of the Downing Street Playgroup. Our aim is to create a supportive environment where learning is enjoyed, valued and becomes a life-long goal. We develop our curriculum to enable children to learn to communicate, cooperate, problem solve, respect, and celebrate differences. We want the children in our program to discover how to learn. At Downing Street preschool children are instilled with the sense of being important, competent, wonderful and loved human beings. Q2) What is a typical day at Downing Street like? A2) Parents drop off their children at 9, and the children immediately begin their school day with supervised play. Activities in the classroom include: arts, music, block building, dramatic play, cooking, sand and water play, puzzle making, game playing, free and structured physical activity, reading, and going on local field trips. After clean-up, we have circle time. A mid-morning snack ensures that everyone has energy for the second half of the morning, when we do story-time and circle-time. Twice a week, a musician comes to lead lively singing and dancing, and to teach about instruments, music, and movement. Then it's off to the playground before the little ones get picked up at 12. For the older children in the extended 9-2 program, after the playground we return to the classroom for lunch and rest, followed by a fun group activity. Sample Schedule: 12:00 - 12:30 Lunch Time Q3) How many teachers and how many children are there in your classes? A3) We have two full time teachers as well as a rotating parent of the day (see Q6 for more details). We have different programs (see Q7), but there is a maximum of 15 children in the classroom at any given time. Q4) Who are your teachers? A4) Our head teacher, Gabriella, is a warm and creative teacher with over 7 years of teaching experience as well as 5 years of experience as a Program Director. She is certified in both New York and Massachusetts, and she has a unique combination of talents, combining both teaching and coordinating. Gabriella has been teaching at Downing Street since 2006. Our wonderful assistant teacher, Makkeda, has been teaching at Downing Street for over 6 years and has several more years of childcare experience. She collaborates with Gabriella on all classroom curriculum and activities. Makkeda brings some of her music and performing arts talents to the group by leading the children in song and movement daily.
A5) Parent participation is an integral part of our program of Downing Street. Our aim is to create a nurturing environment in which everyone supports and is supported by everyone else. In addition, we are a true co-operative, which means that parents have responsibilities in running the school and make a contractual commitment to fulfill those obligations. This co-operative structure has two important results: parents are deeply involved and empowered in their child's education, and our costs are very low allowing our tuition to be considerably below that of comparable programs. Involved parents insure that the school is run well. Parents’ responsibilities include: mandatory monthly meetings, work in the classroom as parent-of-the-day (described below in more detail), set-up at the start of the school year, mid-year clean, and end of year put-away. Each parent will also have a particular co-op job, to manage the administrative and financial duties. These jobs include: chairperson, secretary, treasurer, registrar, web-master, and several others. Joining our co-op is a binding commitment to fulfill your responsibilities. The parents in our school are part of this co-op because we feel that the rewards of involvement are well worth the investment of time and energy; we depend on one another's generosity and positive contributions to maintain the atmosphere that makes Downing Street such a unique and wonderful place.
Q6) What is the Parent of the Day (the "POD")? A6) One parent from every family must work in the classroom on average one day a month. The parent’s responsibilities on workdays at the playgroup are to bring fresh fruit for snack, assist in the classroom, help coordinate the mealtimes and outdoor play, and clean up after the day has ended. Parents will most likely be asked to help with an art project, which will be explained upon arrival. Parents are welcomed to arrange special activities with the children and encouraged to use classroom supplies. The teachers provide guidance, especially for new parents, to insure an enjoyable and productive experience for the children as well as the POD. Q7) What are the hours, and how much is tuition? A7) Our program runs from 9am to 2pm, five days a week, and follows the New York City public schools calendar. We have a flexible schedule. Parents may choose from a variety of attendance options for their children, with the following general guidelines (tuition is indicated as current for the school year 2008-2009, is subject to change, and is reviewed annually): Young twos Older twos and young threes Older threes and fours Q8) What months do you meet? A8) Our schedule follows the NYC public school calendar. When there has been sufficient interest, we have offered a summer program for our students. Parents can enroll their children separately for this program. Q9) Which schools have your graduates typically joined after leaving the Downing Street Playgroup? A9) Graduates of Downing Street go on to do well in both the public and private sectors, and are accepted to attend a wide range of schools downtown and beyond, including: PS3 and PS 41, Little Red Schoolhouse, Saint Luke’s, First Presbyterian, Grace Church and Corlears, among others. Q10) How do I apply? A10) Applications can be downloaded from the website, and will be reviewed in the order they are received. There is a $30 application fee. Subsequently, the prospective parents will be contacted by the Registrar to schedule a tour of the school with your child. Finally, we'll let you know if there is a spot for your child in the class, or whether you will be placed on the waitlist. We actively encourage applications from families of all backgrounds. Every kind of family constellation is welcomed and treated with respect. As the parent body runs the school, we all take part in creating our goal of offering high-quality, low-tuition preschool education to the children of the community. Q11) When can I expect to hear back about whether or not my child has a place at Downing Street for the coming year? A11) We plan to send out admissions email letters in early March. You must make a non-refundable 2-month deposit to reserve your spot within 10 days of receiving a letter of admission, otherwise the place will be offered to a family on the wait-list. Q12) How do I learn more? A12) Feel free to email us with any further questions. Our email address is: info@downingstreetplaygroup.org |
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