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EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
NSA West will offer a premier early childhood learning
center in Highlands Ranch this fall. Our program is designed to appeal
to families who want their child exposed to a higher level of learning
early in life than traditional child care or preschool. Our goal is to
make our early childhood education program the best in the community in
terms of curriculum, facility design and the quality of our educators.
The NSA West Early Childhood Education program will accept children from
preschool through pre-kindergarten, ages 3 through 5. The program will
have the capacity to serve 100 children at full enrollment with three
full-time staff members and three part-time assistants. The program will
be administered by a Dean of Primary Education whose sole focus will be
on the success of the early childhood education and kindergarten
programs at NSA West.
For the 2010-2011 school year, NSA West’s Early Childhood Education
Program will offer a preschool program serving 80 students in three
different classrooms. Please review the Enrollment and Tuition page for
specific enrollment guidelines.
Our Mission
To support a high quality team of educators focused on providing a
nurturing, content-rich academic program which enables children of
primary age to fully prepare to enter grade school with confidence.
Core Knowledge Curriculum
NSA West has developed a high quality program to give primary children
an exceptional early learning experience based on best practices in
early childhood education. Our program differentiates itself through its
quality Core Knowledge preschool program with integrated Spanish
language instruction.
NSA West believes that the most important years of a child’s brain
development and learning patterns occur from infancy to age five. The
Core Knowledge Preschool curriculum, based on over fifteen years
experience with early childhood learning, is aimed at total child
development. The program focuses on a balance of experiences and
activities including:
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Physical well-being and coordination
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Social and emotional development
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Varied approaches to learning, language development, knowledge acquisition and cognitive development
Core Knowledge (CK) preschool educators use a wide
variety of teaching strategies, groupings, and materials to help
children learn the knowledge and skills specified in the CK Preschool
Sequence. Core Knowledge Preschool Professional Development provides
educators with many options for teaching each area of the Preschool
Sequence, including planning activities for large and small group
instruction, incorporating learning into center play, and so on.
Assessment is also an integral part of effective teaching. When
conducted properly, it is an on-going process, carried out within the
context of the regular classroom routine and daily activities. By using
the results obtained through assessment, our preschool educators will
know where to begin instruction with each child and how to proceed. Each
child's progress will be monitored to ensure that knowledge and skills
are being learned. Parents will have the opportunity to conference with
ECE educators regularly regarding their student’s progress.
NSA West’s ECE program is working to become an Official Core Knowledge
Preschool by the 2013/14 school year. This recognition demonstrates a
commitment to the Core Knowledge curriculum and philosophies. Official
Core Knowledge Preschools are recognized nationally and are open to
visitation by others. In addition, the ECE program will become an
accredited preschool program with the National Association for the
Education of Young Children (NAEYC) by the 2012/2013 school year.
Accredited schools are held to stringent standards and are looked to as
the highest quality educational programs.
Additional information regarding the Core Knowledge Preschool program is
available on the national Core Knowledge website at
www.coreknowledge.org.
Spanish Language Instruction
NSA West will offer Spanish language instruction to students in its
early childhood education program. This program will introduce students
to basic age-appropriate vocabulary through meaningful context (ie:
songs) and provide a foundation for the school’s Foreign Language in
Elementary Schools (FLES) Spanish program that begins in kindergarten.
Facility Design
The NSA West Early Childhood Education program is specifically designed
for children ages 3-5 and will be housed in the NSA West facility,
located at 6161 Business Center Drive in Highlands Ranch. The facility
will provide an exceptionally secure and nurturing environment,
following all state laws for early childhood education facilities. The
program will be located in its own space, with its own entrance/exit,
and its own age-appropriate outdoor playground, which may at times be
shared with NSA West kindergarten students. Preschool and
pre-kindergarten students will also have an exclusive pick-up and
drop-off area to maintain safety.
Preschool rooms will have 18-20 children per class, and will be taught
by one Lead Teacher and one Assistant. In year one, there will be four
preschool classes serving a total of 80 children. In year two, the
program will expand to include a total of 100 children in five classes.
High Quality Staff
NSA West provides extraordinary support for the child’s team of
educators so they can focus on teaching, instill a love of learning in
each child and ensure every student is prepared for a smooth transition
into kindergarten and beyond, whether attending NSA West or another
elementary school in the area. Educators will come to our ECE program
with previous ECE experience and Lead classroom teachers will be
certified in primary education. The school’s professional development
program will provide all of our educators and administrators with
opportunities for continuous development of their skills based on a
clear needs assessment that result in an improvement of our school
program.
In addition, the Core Knowledge Foundation provides a range of support
services for schools implementing its CK Preschool Program. All
educators will participate in a wide range of training opportunities
offered by the Core Knowledge Foundation prior to school starting and
throughout the school year.
NSA West is also committed to creating opportunities for school staff to
learn from each other and to learn from other educational professionals
through the sharing of lessons learned and best practices. Educators in
the early childhood educations program will meet regularly with the
school’s kindergarten staff to discuss teaching strategies and
curriculum with opportunities to share and develop lesson plans. The
school also plans to hire a mix of experienced and novice educators and
provide a culture that values mentoring and sharing of ideas.
Additional information on NSA West’s Early Childhood Education Program: