Victory Baptist Church started the Ark Preschool - Kindergarten with a two-fold objective, to give young children a great start in life spiritually and academically. This ministry was started in 1996 with one part time teacher and four families participating. There are now three full time employees ministering to children from over thirty different families in the Addison County area. Please feel free to read through our handbook. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Victory Baptist Church. You are welcome to copy any or all materials from this booklet.

WELCOME

We welcome you and your child to the Ark Preschool/Kindergarten. While your child is enrolled in our program, he/she will be provided a quality education with developmentally appropriate social skills. We encourage parents’ involvement and participation to reinforce these early years of your child’s academic and social development. The Ark Preschool/Kindergarten maintains an open-door policy. Our parents are welcome to visit our classes at any time. Please take the time to read this handbook. It will help you to have a good understanding of our philosophy, policies and procedures.

ABOUT THE ARK PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN:
The Ark Preschool/Kindergarten is a preschool which operates under the guidelines of the State of Vermont and a kindergarten program which operates under the Vermont Department of Education. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, political belief or religion of parents. All the staff at the Ark Preschool/Kindergarten will be working for the best interests of your child and for their welfare.

STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY:
The Ark Preschool/Kindergarten strives to provide a quality education and social skills program for children ages 3, 4 and 5 years. First consideration will be given to the needs of children. We feel our preschool must serve the child as well as the parents. We believe that parents are the first and most important educators of children. We see each child and his/her family as unique, therefore, we strive to meet the individual needs in a respectful manner.

ENROLLMENT:
Upon enrollment there will be certain forms that must be completed and returned in order to meet enrollment requirements for the State of Vermont. These are:

Enrollment Form

Attendance Form

Child's Immunization Certificate

Ark Enrollment Card.

Parent Interview

Registration Fee:
Each child enrolling in the Ark Preschool/Kindergarten is required to pay a non-refundable once-a-year fee of $20.00.

Curriculum Fee:
This is a yearly $40.00 fee for A Beka curriculum for each preschool child and $65.00 for each kindergarten child for the entire year’s worth of worksheets, curriculum, etc. These workbooks will be ordered for your child after the fee has been paid. They are a daily part of the Ark Preschool/Kindergarten and are required in the curriculum.

Tuition:
The tuition for the Ark Preschool/Kindergarten is a fee set by the administration according to the program in which your child is enrolled. Full tuition is charged regardless of whether your child is present or not. If your child is absent for any reason, we reserve his/her place, therefore, we must charge for the service. This applies to all age groups and all sessions.

Our tuition is based on an annual fee that can be paid by your choice of the following plans. This annual fee is divided into a weekly amount that allows you to pay only during the weeks that your child is attending school. This allows you the freedom of not paying any tuition during the full weeks of school vacation, but tuition is paid during all the rest of the weeks beginning in August through the end of the school year. All other weeks are considered to be full weeks and should be paid each week in advance.

School Option

Full days – 8:30-3:30
Five day: $110.00 per week
Three day: $66.00 per week

Half days – 8:30-11:30
Five days: $73.00 per week
Three days: $44.00 per week
If your child is dropped off before 8:15 or picked up after 3:15 an early/late fee of 25 cents per five minutes will be assessed.

School Plus Option

Full days – 7:30-5:00
Five days: $132.00
Three days: $80.00

Half days - 7:30 to 11:30
Five days - $81.00 per week
Three days - $49.00 per week
The School Plus Option will allow you to drop your child off any time after 7:30 and pick them up any time before 5:00, while paying only one flat fee per week.

On the last week of school, tuition will be prorated to cover snow days. We will send out a statement for the last week of school approximately one month before it is due. Please note that if your child attends the three-day program, the number of snow days may vary (since your child may not have been scheduled for attendance on a snow day cancellation).

The conditions of this agreement provide for our parents as well as our Preschool. In order to assure that we can provide the services that your child is entitled to, it is essential that the financial status of the school be stable. The Ark’s salaries and overhead expenses cannot be reduced due to absentee losses in income. In essence, this agreement is parental guarantee to the Ark Preschool/Kindergarten that you will financially support the enrollment space which is guaranteed to your child.

Tuition is due in the Interview. Accounts are considered delinquent after seven (7) days, and the preschool is not obligated to accept any child with a delinquent account. If tuition is not paid after 7 days, a $5.00 per week late fee is added to the tuition.

Withdrawals:
When a child is withdrawn from the Ark Preschool/Kindergarten before the paid-up period is over NO refund will be made. Please allow the Director to have a one-week notice of withdrawal. If this is neglected, you will be charged for that week that no notice is given. If you withdraw your child and have a delinquent balance, a financial agreement will be drawn up and signed by the parent and the Director. This agreement must be paid as stated. Any delinquent balances will be turned over for collection. At that time, all fees and tuition will be the responsibility of the parents.

Holidays:
The Ark Preschool/Kindergarten will be closed for some major holidays. These will be announced in advance of the holidays and posted on the information bulletin board located in the Preschool area.

Our school calendar will be available by August 15^th of each school year.

Snow Days:
The Ark Preschool/Kindergarten will be closed when the Vergennes schools are closed because of weather. We will not have delayed openings like VUHS. We will open at our regular time. When the weather becomes inclement during the school day, we may find it necessary to close early. We will contact the parent in order for you to make the necessary arrangements for early pick-up. (A full day under these circumstances is until 1:30). Please refer to payment schedule about snow days.