All Teachers / Guides and Substitutes are required by the Department of Health (DOH) to complete the following list of requirements for working in a permitted preschool program in NYC before starting employment.

Our additional policy is to share with parents of enrolled students resumes and recommendations of any new staff additions.

When a teacher is absent we will notify the parents of the covering teacher. Parents will have access to the bio of all teachers including the floaters and substitute teachers via our website.

Any mid-year staffing changes will be shared with parents as soon as possible, with the opportunity to meet any new lead teachers. At the start of the year, every student has the opportunity to meet their class guides for the upcoming year.

While we love to see students and families forming relationships with our teachers, as we are not a Co-Op School, parents should not have the expectation of requiring or dictating our staffing for classrooms or enrichment. Our door is always open for feedback (which can also be anonymized via the Class Parent representatives).

DOH Requirements

1. Resume with 3 letters of recommendation

2. Physical with vaccinations (bi-annually)

3. Mandatory courses/certificates:

   1. Mandated Reporter-annually (EMM will complete annually in September)

   2. Infectious Disease

4. SCR (Statewide Central Register) Database Check. This is the New York State Office of Children and Family Services’ web-based Online Clearance System, which supports the mandate under Section 424-a of the Social Services Law for legally authorized agencies to inquire of the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR) as to the existence of any indicated reports of child abuse and maltreatment against an applicant prior to employment, certification, or licensure in the child care field.

5. Fingerprints with IdentoGO - background checks can reveal criminal arrests, charges, and other details about previous cases

6. Pediatric First Aid CPR AED course is completed annually in September.

Entry to the school is via a two door system, which are both locked at all times. Children must be checked in and out by their caregivers via the Brightwheel App using an individual code per caretaker.

We will notify all EMM parents of the details of all serious allegations / incidents / conditions related to potential serious risks to safety of the students as soon as we are made aware. In the worst case, it will be within 24 hours of this knowledge. This includes any potential safety risk that is reported to you involving a member of our staff.

We have cameras located in each classroom and in the center community area. These cameras are monitored by administrators.

At EMM, we follow the parents’ lead on potty training, as each child is different. We ask that you proactively share with us any requirements or preferences that you have, and keep us updated as your child develops.

At school, toilets and stalls have no doors. Connecting door remains open at all times. An adult covers the bathroom entrance whenever an employee is inside with a child.

We do not permit portable potties for individual students. We do not take portable potties outdoors, but have access to a toilet at the park and garden we do outdoor time at.

Outdoor time is an integral part of education. Our policy is at least one outdoor event a day, unless temperatures are unsafe.

• We do not do Baby Led Weaning or Assisted Feeding. Food should be sent in the appropriate sizing for the age. A helpful guide is here.

• All students should bring a healthy NUT FREE lunch and snack with a beverage daily in a lunchbox or lunch bag.

• Snacks are given around 10AM, while lunch is later, so it is helpful to have them separate.

• Lunches are stored in students' backpacks, so if they need to be kept cold, provide a cold ice pack with their lunch.

• We cannot reheat students’ lunches from home. If your child prefers to eat a hot lunch, a heat retaining Thermos works very well.

A Class Parent is a parent who volunteers to help a teacher and support a classroom community. Class parents are a vital part of a successful classroom. This parent can help remove barriers between home and school. Each classroom will have 1 or 2 class parents. The class parent will meet with administration or teachers monthly and communicate updates to other parents as needed.

Children who stay in school for a full day will have a rest period after lunch.

Our scheduled rest time is approximately 45 - 60 minutes. If you would like your child to rest longer, please let us know. Our Daisies and Lillies classrooms will rest according to their sleep schedule.

We understand that not all children nap and do less so as they grow older; however, it is important that children rest/relax their bodies for a minimum of 30 minutes. If your child does not nap, s/he is still required to lay quietly on their cots with a book or quiet toy/puzzle. After 30 minutes, children who are not napping are allowed to engage in a quiet activity for the remainder of the rest period. Should you have concerns about nap length, please speak to the Guides in your room. We cannot commit to capping naps or waking children but we are your partners in raising a wonderful human being, and we want to make sure we are always on the same page.

Note that pillows, baby bottles and pacifiers are not permitted in our Toddler or Preschool classrooms for use at any time, per the NYC Department of Health and Hygiene. Baby bottles and pacifiers are allowed in our Daisies and Lillies classroom.

Your child's birthday is certainly a day to celebrate. We encourage you to bring a healthy snack for all the children to share and a favorite book to be donated to our library. The book will be name plated with the child's name/age. We celebrate with a ceremony called The Celebration of Life. The birthday child walks around a Montessori sun, while carrying the earth and we all sing. Please coordinate the date/time of the celebration with your child’s teacher.

We know you miss your children, and we are so lucky to be able to spend the days with them. We do our best to keep you updated with pictures, but starting in 2025, we will only be able to commit to at least 1 picture a day. Depending on the activity, weather, and children’s energy levels, it is easier / harder to get pictures on certain days, and we do not want to encourage teachers to be on their phones during school hours.

All non-urgent communications will be answered by our administration staff. Should anything non urgent require teacher input, please understand that the teachers are unable to respond during working hours, and generally do so after working hours, or the next morning during classroom preparation.

We do not accept Friends arriving after 30 min from start time of 8:30AM, as it is disruptive to the day’s work activities in each classroom. We are happy to make exceptions for doctor’s appointments and other engagements, with 12 hours’ notice.

If it is one of those days (we all have them!), we ask that you bring your child at 10:15AM so their arrival coincides with snack time (after Work).

As we staff based on expected enrollment, we do need to enforce late pick up charges. For any schedule (Half Day, Full Day, Extended Day), there is a 5 minute grace-period, after which we will charge $20 per 15 min increment.

For all new students over 6 months of age, we ask that you factor in the need for a week-long Transition Session into enrollment. This is typically a series of 5 days, with progressively longer stretches at school. On the first day, we invite you to stay with your child. This is required, no matter the final schedule for the student.

• For any infectious diseases (COVID, RSV, Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, Lice, Pinkeye and others), we require a doctor’s note to return and at least 10 days from symptom emergence. This is really important as we have smaller Friends around (as little as 3 months).

• If your child is vomiting, has a fever over 100, has diarrhea or has a sudden onset of an unexplained rash, we will call you to collect them. If they had a doctor’s appointment for vaccines this policy is not enforced as we know there are sometimes side effects.

• If you cannot come pick up your child in an emergency, we will use the medical release signed at enrollment to take them to the nearest Emergency Room (NYU Langone).