Every teacher in every classroom at Growing Together Preschool attends ongoing training about positive behavior intervention & support. As your child grows and moves from room to room, they will get a consistent environment with teachers using the same overall positive words and expectations through their years at our Growing Together Preschool. We hope to encourage better behaviors, enhance self-esteem and proper social skills through the good choices they make. This works best if everyone who walks through our doors is held to the same behavior expectations. Our FISH rules reflect our values as a program, our mission of inclusion and our belief that modeling positive interactions is an important part of learning.
First Comes Safety
Include All Children and Families
Show Respect
Have Patience
First Comes Safety – Our first priority is to ensure a safe environment. As a program we promise to provide a safe environment through maintenance, supervision and behavior guidance. You will hear teachers say, “Is that a safe choice?”, “Please use your walking feet.”, and “I need you to use gentle touches with your friends.”
Include All Children and Families – GTP was founded to be the first early care and education center to provide an inclusive program. This means that all children and families are treated equally and their needs met individually. It also means that all involved in the program are expected to have tolerance and appreciation for children and families with needs that are different from their own. Inclusive programs are high quality programs because teachers are more adept at meeting these individual needs for all children. We embrace the diversity of our program because it benefits everyone.
Show Respect – It is important to us to model respectful language and behavior because children learn how to interact by observation. You will hear teachers say, “Is that a respectful choice?” or “What a fantastic job you did using your manners. That was being respectful to your teacher!” Disrespectful conflicts between adults will not be tolerated in the classroom. And, teachers will guide children in resolving conflicts in a respectful manner.
Have Patience – It’s easy to get frustrated with children. Take a deep breath and remember the expectation to be respectful. We all learn and grow at different levels and paces. Patience is key in supporting children, families and staff through their individual needs and confidential matters.
The rules are posted near the main entrance as a reminder to everyone that our behavior as adults influences every child in the program. We know parenting is hard and nobody is perfect. Know that Growing Together Preschool is here to support you along your parenting journey – all you have to do is ask!