School for Young Children

We have a handful of open spots available for 3- and 4-year-olds for the 2020-21 school year but we don’t expect them to stay open for long.  If you know someone who believes in social/emotional development through play, who values relationships, who sees the importance of uninterrupted child-led experiences, please encourage them to call us at 614-267-0254 to schedule a tour. 

The 2020-21 school year application and scholarship forms are now being accepted. You can find them here on our Enrollment Information page on the SYC website.

We strongly recommend scheduling a tour of our school before the application deadline, if you have not already done so, to make sure it is a good fit for your family. You can set up your visit day and time by calling us at 614-267-0254.

Applications, non-refundable application fees and scholarship forms need to be in by 12:00 pm February 14 for best possible placements and scholarship assistance. Please call or email us with any questions.

One of our core values at SYC is relationships through open communication.  We strive to have strong relationships with the children, each other and you the parents and we know that the key to any great relationship is open communication.  In order for us to maintain and improve our quality program we need to evaluate and reevaluate our practices with input from all parties.

Teaching teams meet daily before or after class to review the classroom dynamics, celebrate the things that went well and brainstorm the challenges.  As a whole staff we meet monthly and sometimes bi-monthly to stretch our thinking and examine our practices on a larger scale.  We set individual and program-wide goals each year. 

After the New Year, your small group teacher will reach out to schedule a time to meet for a conference.  Prior to that, Holly will send out a link to the Pre-Conference Questionnaire for you to either fill out online or on paper. The questionnaire asks about your child’s experience in school thus far, your concerns, and other information that is vital to teachers in preparing for your child’s conference.  It helps teachers better manage the conference time in order to address your concerns and to prepare resources for you. During your scheduled conference time you can expect your child’s small group teacher to share observations of your child’s play interests, peer relationships, and developmental stages, and to discuss goals for your child’s growth  You can also expect teachers to share insights on any concerns you may have and to provide information on additional resources should you need them. 

In years prior we have sent out a year-end program evaluation which we have found helpful if a little late in the year.  To find out what your thoughts and concerns might be earlier in our relationship, this year we will also be sending out a short mid-year feedback form.  We ask that you take a few moments to fill it out or to come in and talk with one of us if you’d rather.  Your feedback is an essential piece to our process in examining our practices.  We value your thoughts and ideas, both positive and negative.  Please fill it out before we close for the winter break on Friday, December 13.

As mentioned above, communication is one of our core values.  The last section of the form will ask if you would like your child’s small group teacher to contact you, if you’d like a director to contact you or if you do not need to discuss further.  Please know that although we are requesting feedback through this form, should you want to talk at anytime throughout the year, we invite you to share your thoughts with us or with the teachers. As you may have noticed there is a quote hanging in our hallway leading to the classrooms.  “In times of conflict, increase communication.” -Jan Waters and Stephanie Rottmayer.  We could add that much conflict can be avoided or addressed sooner if we communicate early and often.   Hearing what’s working well for you also helps build our relationship.  Let’s talk.  

…Susan Roscigno and Amy Rudawsky, Co-Directors

It’s often been rumored that SYC is the place where anything goes.  Everything is allowed.  No structure.  No rules.  

Well that is not entirely correct.  It’s true, yes, that our focus is child-centered.  Children make their own choices of who they play with and what they play with and how they spend the majority of their time at SYC.  We honor SYC as their time and their space.   

But there’s more to SYC than “do what you want when you want.”  SYC does have structure, rules and limits.  

These limits fall into some general categories:

· Safety – People and things aren’t for hurting, wash hands, stay in a room with a teacher

· Structure/Routine – your stuff belongs in your cubby, “it’s time for us to ….”

· Independence/Self-help – everyone throws away their own trash, gets their own lunchbox

We believe that every child at SYC has the right to feel safe and respected.  So limits are set in a gentle yet firm matter-of-fact manner.  We might empathize with a child, “You really wish you didn’t have to wash your hands”, or joke with them, “What if we never  washed hands?!?”, but the limit is still there.  

Because each child and classroom community is unique, the finer points of the limits may vary slightly from room to room and child to child.  We understand that some children need more support than others, and that younger children tend to need more support than older ones.  Some respond better to a firm “shoes” than a longer “it’s time to put your shoes on now.”  Similarly, self-help looks different in a 2s class than in the 4/5s.  Teachers are constantly observing both individual children and the class as a whole to assess their needs and skills and consider that information when setting limits.  They are also prioritizing building relationships with children so that any limits that are set are done so within the context of a safe, trusting relationship.

So, is SYC a free-for-all where kids can do whatever whenever?  Certainly not.  Is it a place where children can take risks, follow their own interests, decide how to spend their own time while they learn to set limits on others, listen when limits are set on them and build their self-help skills within the context of a trusting relationship with an adult other than a primary caregiver?  Absolutely.

…Amy Rudawsky and Susan Roscigno, SYC Co-Directors