Scott Andersen : The Grove School: A seriously fresh new preschool in Cary and Plano!

Meet Ms. Stephanie!

Scott Andersen | August 18, 2010 | Comment

We are very happy to announce a new teacher at The Grove School of Cary. Her name is Ms. Stephanie. She is from Germany and has lived in NC for the last 13 years. She has over 20 years of experience teaching children in both Germany and the United States.

She will be busy at The Grove School! She is teaching our Mommy and Me! program, teaching German, cooking and coordinating our outdoor grove projects.

We are fortunate to have her with us! Please take a moment to stop in and say hello and to welcome her to our school. Also take a moment to watch her bilingual video.

Scott, a.k.a. Dr. Andersen, is our Head of School in Cary, NC. He brings 16 years of experience as a teacher and school/district administrator. He has also worked as a photojournalist and software developer.

Keywords: Cary, Grove School, staff

Mommy and Me!

Scott Andersen | August 11, 2010 | Comments (2)

I am thrilled to let folks know about a new class we are starting at The Grove School: Mommy and Me!

Mommy and Me! is a 90-minute long program concentrating on the development of social skills through Music, Language, Physical Education and Art. The program provides interactive and imaginative experiences to enhance development for your child. Each class will form its own chemistry as the parent and the child share a sense of togetherness with other parents and children.

This class will be for mom’s and their children ages 12-24 months. The class is led by one of our Grove School teachers.

The classes will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays. The first class will be on Wednesday, Sep. 8 and the last class will be on Monday, Nov. 22. The classes will run from 9:30 – 11:00.

** UPDATE 8-19 – We will be holding a preview class on Wednesday, Aug. 25 from 9:15 to 10:15. Space is limited and the class will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Call to sign up.

Please give me a call at 467-6494 if you have any questions or comments.

Keywords: Cary, Grove School, Mommy and Me

Work Snapshots

Scott Andersen | August 10, 2010 | Comment

I am posting some photos I took walking around the school this morning. I took this first one of the nature collage with tree bark, moss, and photos. It reminds me of fancy quilts I have seen. I hope you enjoy them. More can be found on our Flikr page.

Keywords: Cary, curriculum, Grove School, student work

Reaching for the Stars!

Scott Andersen | August 10, 2010 | Comment

The Grove School is participating in the North Carolina Star Rated License system. This is a system that is used to provide parents with information pertaining to the quality and practices of an individual center or preschool, like The Grove School. The star system rates day cares and preschools on a 1-5 star scale. Even before the doors of The Grove School were opened, it has been our commitment to attain the highest rating, five stars.

When we opened January 18, we were issued a temporary license, as are all facilities. The temporary license is issued for a 6 month period. Since the evaluation of some of our staff was not completed by the end of our 6 month license and results from a test I took in June were not back, we scored three out of a possible five stars. This is only temporary. All of our staff credentials have been submitted and are in process for evaluation by the state. When that evaluation is complete, we are confident that we will be given sufficient points to push our license to a five star license.

During our temporary license period, we had several visits from the licensing consultants from the Department of Child Development and we also participated in the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scales (ECERS) and the Infants and Toddlers Environmental Rating Scales (ITERS).

The NC Star Rated License system rates centers on these three areas: Program Standards, Educational Standards, and Quality Point.

PROGRAM STANDARDS points are based on an evaluation of the daily environment at our school. This includes the following three focus areas:

Program Environment – sufficient space for activities, a variety of play materials and a clean and comfortable play area
The Number of Staff per Child
The Interactions Between – adults and children, children with other children, children with activities and materials

We scored a perfect 7 out of 7 points on program standards. This includes the results from our ECERS and ITERS assessments.

The EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS component of the star system pertains to the qualifications of the staff. This is the component that is still under review for The Grove School.

Studies have shown that the more education and experience a child care center administrator has, the greater the impact on the center because of improved management and better classroom practices. Teachers with more early childhood education and experience interact better with children and create more enriching classroom experiences. Studies have shown that children whose teachers had higher qualifications did better both academically and behaviorally at least into early elementary school.

To earn higher points in the education component of the rated license child care staff must complete or have completed more formal education and have experience working with preschool children. The number of points a center can earn for staff education is based on:

The education and experience levels of the administrator
The number of lead teachers with child care credentials
The number of lead teachers with more early childhood education and experience
The number of teachers with formal education and/or experience

Our staff education and experience levels qualify us to attain five star status. We are just now playing the waiting game.

The final component in the star system is the quality point. We earned our quality point in multiple categories.

Even though we do not control the timing of the staff credential evaluation process, we anticipate its completion some time this fall. Naturally, we will share the news with you as soon as we get it.

If you would like more information regarding the NC Star Rating Systems, visit the DCD website: http://ncchildcare.dhhs.state.nc.us/parents/pr_sn2_ov_sr.asp.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Keywords: Cary, Grove School, licensing, Star rating

The 2010-11 Grove School Calendar (Cary)

Scott Andersen | July 29, 2010 | Comment

Below are important dates for the 2010-2011 school year. Please note that changes may be made and new events may be added.

AUGUST

23-27 Preschool Readiness Week

31 Meet the Teacher

SEPTEMBER

2 Teacher Professional Development Day ~ School Closed

3 Teacher In-Service Day ~ School Closed

6 Labor Day, Monday ~ School Closed

9 Back to School Night

17 Packing Healthy Lunches with children’s author, Karen Fine

25 Recycling Fair

OCTOBER

23 Fall Festival

NOVEMBER

18 Grove School Family Feast of Thanks

24 Teacher Professional Development and In-Service Day, ~ School Closed

25-26 Thanksgiving Holiday ~ School Closed

29-30 Student Conferences

DECEMBER

16 A Family Night of Giving

24-31 Grove School Winter Break ~ School Closed

JANUARY

18 Grove School Family Snow Ball

FEBRUARY

11 “Man in My Life Night”

21 Teacher Professional Development and In-Service Day ~ School Closed

22-23 Student Conferences

MARCH

30-31 Preschool Round Up

APRIL

28 Spring Fling, The Grove School Summer Program Preview

11-17 Week of the Young Child

22 Earth Day
MAY

2-6 The Grove School Teacher Appreciation Week

13 “The Lady I Love Night”

27 Teacher Professional Development and In-Service Day ~ School Closed

30 Memorial Day, Monday ~ School Closed

31 Student Conferences

JUNE

1 Student Conferences

3 Pre-Kindergarten Graduation

6 The Grove School Summer Program Kick Off

JULY

4 Independence Day ~ School Closed

TBA Preschool Independence

Keywords: calendar, Cary, Grove School

Meet Ms. Deedra

Scott Andersen | July 29, 2010 | Comments (3)

We are thrilled to have Ms. Deedra as part of The Grove School of Cary team. Ms. Deedra has worked with students from 12 months up to 10 years old. She has served as a lead teacher for the past for years. She has a Bachelor’s in Psychology.

Ms. Deedra will be working with Ms. Katie in our Early Preschool classroom.

Enjoy her video below.

Please join us in welcoming her to our Grove family.

Keywords: Cary, staff

Desert Fun!

Scott Andersen | July 14, 2010 | Comment

No, this is not a blog entry about DESSERT FUN, it is about our students’ study of the desert biome. As part of our summer program, EcoAdventures, students have spent the past two weeks studying about the desert. Below are some photos of their work. Enjoy!

Keywords: Cary, desert biome, Dr. Scott Andersen, EcoAdventures, Grove School, Summer Program

Article In Cary Living!

Scott Andersen | July 12, 2010 | Comment

The Grove School of Cary is featured in an article in the Cary Living magazine! You are welcome to check it out. To get there, click on this link: http://issuu.com/midtown/docs/clm_ja10/43 , click on the page to zoom in and make it bigger, and click the right arrow to go to the next page where the blurb is located. Hope you enjoy the read!

Keywords: Cary, cary living, Grove School

Let’s Help Our Friends…Have a Meal

Scott Andersen | July 12, 2010 | Comment

For now, the bags shown in the photo at left are empty. However, by close of business Friday, these bags will be full of food to help feed those in our community who need help.

In support of the Durham Rescue Mission and their efforts to feed individuals, families and children in our community, we will be collecting food items from the list shown in the photo below.

We have bags set up in the lobby and we will accept your generous donations through Friday, July 16. The food items will be delivered this Sunday.

I hope we can all join together to share in our abundance with those who fight each and every day for something so basic as a meal.

Let’s show our friends in the community what it means to be a part of The Grove School family.

Let’s dig deep and fill up the bags in our lobby!

Thanks for your help!

Keywords: Cary, community, Durham Rescue Mission, food

People Make the Difference…The Right People That Is!

Scott Andersen | July 8, 2010 | Comment

In any organization, company, team, group, etc., the difference between being just good and being GREAT always boils down to people. In support of this, a CEO of a major company once said when asked to name the top five factors that led to his company’s success, replied with the following (as told in Jim Collins’ book Good to Great):

“One would be people.
Two would be people.
Three would be people.
Four would be people.
And five would be people.”

As you know, our school is growing. As a result, we are going through the process of looking for the best and the brightest teachers to grow with us.

And it is not an easy task!

Because our standards and expectations are so high and our program is so unique, it takes a very talented and unique teacher for our students and our school. In the past month, we have received hundreds of resumes to review from all over the country. We are honored to have so much interest from folks wanting to be a part of our school. While that is a blessing, it is also a curse. It does take a lot of our time, both Sarah (our Education Manager) and I, to review the incoming resumes and decide who should go forward in the selection process.

I would estimate that about 20% of the applicants move forward to the next phase which is a screening interview. While I was doing my doctoral research at the University of Georgia, one of the professors I worked with published a study on hiring the right people. Unfortunately, he found that even the best predictor of whether an employee would be a good fit for your organization was only correct about 21% of the time. Starting with 100 applicants and by merging those two numbers, the 20% of applicants that move forward and the best predictor of a good fit being about 21%, that brings us to about 4 applicants out of 100 that are likely to be a good fit.

We cannot and will not settle for mediocre or average. We must have exceptional talent. For that reason, we have adopted the approach that Collins outlines in his book: “When in doubt, don’t hire and keep looking.” As we rapidly grow and the pressure to hire staff to meet the demands of our incoming families increases, this approach can be quite scary!

The corollary to that is that we may need to limit our growth based upon our ability to find enough of the right people. In a business sense, this corollary is equally scary. No business would ever want to turn away customers, especially in today’s economy. Naturally, we want every customer possible.

I am thrilled to report that our efforts and patience are paying off. We have a lot of talent in our pipeline and are getting ready to bring on board a few more wonderfully talented teachers. We anticipate our hiring to continue through the fall with our commensurate growth.

The pressure will continue to be on our leadership team to continually attract, hire and retain the right people. After all, people make all the difference…the right people that is!