How will the children be grouped in their classrooms? What are the teacher-to-child ratios at the Family Centers?
The Family Centers will follow established practices of high quality early child care and education programs in grouping children by age. Up to pre-kindergarten, children generally will be grouped in classes based on their birth dates. Children six weeks to 12 months will be assigned to Infant Rooms, 12 to 24 months to Toddler Rooms, and two to three-years old to Two-Year-Old Rooms. Three-year olds and younger four-year olds will participate in preschool programs also grouped by birthdates. Based on enrollment, some age groups may be subdivided to accommodate different levels of development (for example, there may be different rooms for Younger Twos and Older Twos). Teachers will always be guided by the unique needs of each child in the group when implementing the curriculum.
Children participating in pre-kindergarten will be four years old as of September 1. This policy is consistent with the Florida schools most children will attend in future years and prevents children from having to repeat pre-kindergarten prior to becoming eligible for a kindergarten program the following year.
Teacher-to-child ratios:
Infants (6 weeks to 12 months) 1:4
Toddlers (12 to 24 months) 1:5
Two-Year-Olds 1:7
Pre-School Age (3 to 5 years) 1:12
School Age 1:15