Northshire Day School (NDS)

The Northshire Day School (NDS) cultivates a nurturing and inclusive community where children grow and thrive. Northshire Day School was established in 1968, and is the largest early childhood education provider in the Manchester area, serving over 90 children from 20 different towns, six weeks to five years old. NDS offers various programs to suit a wide range of needs of area children and families. Northshire Day School, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization governed by a Board of Trustees. There is a leadership team that is responsible for the daily operation of the school. The administration includes the following positions: Executive Director, Curriculum Director, Administrative Director, Food Service Director and Development Director.NDS provides a safe, caring environment where children can grow, learn and thrive. We believe in offering a rich, developmentally appropriate learning environment that focuses on child-centered activities and play-based learning. The staff creates opportunities for the children to experience, explore and gain an understanding of the world and the people around them. The staff respects a child's individuality and self-respect, lays positive foundations for learning, encourages responsibility and kindness to others and promotes health and safety. We support independence and foster development. We promote a sense of trust and respect with regard to the children's feelings, skills and choices and have a high regard for the importance of self-esteem and positive self-image. Our philosophy is to design a developmentally appropriate program that stimulates learning for every child in a way that is natural, nurturing and fun.Our school offers the following: Infant Program: Saplings & Birch Classrooms NDS staff helps to build relationships with infant and toddlers by creating meaningful daily routines and experiences that respond to the individual child's own strengths and interests. These early, positive interactions with caring adults can give young children the confidence they need to explore their surroundings and take delight in their day-to-day discoveries. We provide a stimulating environment to learn and grow, supporting the mastery of skills at each stage of infant development. NDS strives to build a strong partnership with the families in our programs. Working together with our families not only helps with the care that we provide for the child but helping meet the needs of the parents as well. We understand that healthy development and learning begins at birth. Our infant program is designed to offer a secure place with knowledgeable teachers who honor a family's routine. Toddler Program: Sycamore, Willow & Hickory ClassroomsOur program is designed to provide a safe place for our newly independent toddlers to test out and learn new skills, wonder about everything, and discover how to make friends. It's all alongside teachers who know that children learn best through play and open exploration of their surroundings. Additionally, we support families in their roles as parents and as their child's first teacher by partnering in setting goals and routines to support the development of the individual child.Preschool/Pre-K Programs: The preschool program is designed for children ages three to five years old. We have three preschool rooms, one for our younger three-year olds and two classrooms for older three-year-olds through age five. All utilize the Creative Curriculum, a play-based curriculum that centers on learning through play. We use an emergent learning model and teachers design curriculum based on the interests of the children. We have a strong emphasis on social-emotional development to support the development of kindergarten readiness skills. We collaborate with the Taconic & Green Early Education Department to provide services for children with specialized learning needs. We aim to give children a solid foundation for future success by inspiring their curiosity and instilling a love for learning. Our goal is to provide our preschoolers with the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills that will help them to thrive in school and in life. NDS also collaborates with area school districts and the VT Agency of Education as a pre-qualified Pre-Kindergarten provider.Family Tree Program: Established in the Fall of 2022, the NDS Family Tree Program is built on the strengths-based philosophy of the Strengthening Families framework and protective factors. The program promotes strong families and healthy development for children prenatally through age five, provides resources, service coordination and support to help all families thrive during everyday circumstances as well as persevere during times of stress or crisis. Food Services & Farm to School Program: NDS strives to provide a wide variety of healthy, nutritious meals to our children while continually encouraging young children to try new and exciting foods they might not be exposed to otherwise. We partner with local farms, local producers and CSA opportunities. We aspire to create a connected community where children, families, educators, and community members all have access to a nutritious, locally sourced food, and meaningful lifelong learning experiences.Learning Environment, Curriculum & Assessment: We provide a rich learning environment with curricula that are developmentally appropriate to the specific ages in each classroom. We have a flexible daily routine that allows children to advance at their own pace. We strongly believe that learning happens through play. Learning and exploring are hands-on and are facilitated through interest areas. Our program is designed to enhance children's development in the following areas: creativity, self-expression, decision-making, problem-solving, responsibility, independence, and reasoning. We encourage openness to that which is different from us, and the ability to work and play with others. We use Creative Curriculum and emergent curriculum based on the interests of the children in each class. We are committed to each child's success in learning with a caring, responsive and safe environment. We work to ensure each child has the opportunity and support to develop to his or her fullest potential and share meaningful connections with friends and teachers and to advance at their own developmental pace. We believe that learning happens through play.The daily schedule will still include time for whole group activities, learning centers, and projects, as well as small group time. Learning Center options will be available in classrooms, outdoor learning areas, and communal learning spaces. We use the following Curriculum and Assessments: Creative Curriculum - Creative Curriculum balances teacher-directed and child-initiated learning with an emphasis on responding to children's learning styles and building on their strengths and interests.TS Gold Teaching Strategies Gold is an observation-based assessment system grounded in 38 research-based objectives for development and learning.VELS Vermont Early Learning Standards inform families about the development and capabilities of children from birth through grade 3 and guide educators in the development and selection of program-wide curriculum and educational strategies for children from birth through grade 3. e-DECA - The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment is a screening and assessment tool focusing on identifying key social and emotional strengths of children and provides planning resources to caregivers and parents with research-based strategies to promote children's resilience. ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE 2 The Ages & Stages questionnaire provides early identification of challenges in young children. It allows for parent and teacher input and accurately identifies concerns to help children reach their fullest potential during their most formative early years.To coincide with curriculum-based assessment(s), we monitor each child's achievement of developmental milestones, share observations with families, and provide resource information as needed for further screenings, evaluations, and early intervention and treatment. Staff and Staff Development: The quality of a program is directly related to the qualifications of the staff. Northshire Day School teaching staff is highly qualified. Our staff have one or more of the following qualifications: a CDA, Child Development Associate, or an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field, or a Bachelors Degree or Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field and a Vermont State Teaching License. Each staff person has an IPDP, Individualized Professional Plan. This plan is reviewed by eachstaff person along with the Director yearly. Each year, goals are set for that staff person to work toward in the field of early childhood education. Once the goals are met, new goals are set into play. All staff is required by the state to have at least 27 hours of educational training