Since their recent Grand Opening, Parkland Children’s Academy has seen healthy growth and dozens of happy families who enjoy the facility’s excellent curriculum, accommodations, staff and security. Modeled after the owner’s successful Coconut Creek school, Providence Children’s Academy, which began three and a half years ago, this new preschool is nestled in a quiet setting at the heart of Parkland. Director Donna Morgan and her husband, Tom, are excited to see their brand of education catching on in our community. Tom says, “In both of our schools, we focus on safety and education. We are a school, not a daycare.”
Security/safety measures include: Fingerprint ID for child pick up, web cams in the classrooms and play yard to enable parents to watch from anywhere they have a computer, iPhone, etc, and the 5,000 square foot facility has mirrored tint on all of the outside windows to ensure privacy for the students. We have availed services from https://www.myspectatoronline.com/growing-strong-safe/ for extra data protection.
Students can be enrolled from age 1 through VPK. The curriculum, Tom says, is based on the principle, “Children learn when they have fun.” Each of the classrooms include a variety of interactive centers. There is a science center, a blocks center, a dramatic play center, a reading center and more. The children go from center to center to get each experience, learning a variety of developmental lessons in the course of each day.
All teachers at Parkland Children’s Academy are fully certified and experienced. Tom says, “You can be a professor in college and not be able to teach in a pre school. You have to have to be certified in early childhood education, and each of our teachers is.”
A beautifully shaded and spacious outdoor play area is a terrific spot for outside activities. With a 6-foot privacy cedar fence, parents can be assured that safety is, again, priority number one. The surface is a specially designed turf. “The company that put it in has done 17 NFL stadiums,” Tom says confidently. “If it’s good for the boys in the NFL, its good for our kids.”
When asked what sets Parkland Children’s Academy apart from other preschools, one focus of our discussion turns to discipline. Tom and the staff are passionate about inclusion, rather than exclusion. He says, “We don’t believe in time out, we believe in redirection. Let’s just say Billy is not happy in the block area and is fussing. Rather than putting him in time out where all the children see that Billy was a ‘bad boy,’ the teachers will move him to a different center.” Tom, Donna and their staff are disheartened by daycare facilities that display happy or sad faces next to a child’s name, showing all of the other kids who’s been bad. “We don’t believe in that,” Tom says adamantly. “We do, however, believe in a reward system!” So when Billy has a good day, he’ll get a sticker or some other reward that keeps him feeling confident and good about his schoolday.
In conclusion, Tom and Donna’s passion is to continue to bless our community with a much-needed preschool modeled after an already successful program running smoothly for several years in the town next door. “We’ve realized what a significant difference we’d made in the families and the children at the Coconut Creek school. We’re so happy to have brought the same characteristics and quality to Parkland!'”
Take a tour of Parkland Children’s Academy and find out about their partnership with the YMCA, catered lunches, their summer camp and much more!
For more info call 954-688-5877 or see www.ParklandChildrensAcademy.com