About

Core Values

Supporting Family Relationships

Allen Creek Preschool recognizes that the relationship between a parent and child is the foundation for all of the child’s future learning and relationships. Healthy family relationships are vital to the attainment of social and emotional competence, self-reflection, and cognitive learning.

Some ways we realize this value:

The school continually attends to parent-child relationships and how they evolve during the preschool years.
Careful attention is paid to helping parent and child negotiate separation and other transitions.
Child development experts are recruited as our family consultants. They observe weekly in assigned classrooms.
Both teachers and family consultants work to help parents more fully understand their child’s individual challenges and accomplishments.
If a child or family faces particularly challenging circumstances, we provide opportunities for private meetings between parents and family consultants that may lead to referral to other professional resources in the community.

Education

Our approach is based on the best educational, developmental, and psychological research and practice, with the aim of helping children learn and develop in optimal ways. Allen Creek Preschool teachers observe carefully and interact closely with their students and by so doing they gather information about how each child learns best. We foster creativity, independence, individuality, and respect for self and community. We teach effective ways to manage a range of feelings so that children gain emotional strength. We provide structures and experiences that both ground and stretch children and we value all modes of exploration, discovery, and expression. While children explore their inner and outer worlds, parents learn to understand, facilitate, and enjoy their child’s development.

Some ways we realize this value:

Teachers think intentionally about what they are doing and why in weekly meetings.
Teachers use daily observations to understand each child’s development and to provide meaningful learning experiences.
Teachers collaborate with each other, family consultants, and with parents in setting goals and developing a curriculum that will best serve the children in their classroom.
Teachers participate in monthly professional development seminars on a variety of developmental and educational topics.

Communication and Community

Allen Creek Preschool relies on honest, thoughtful communication. This communication requires questioning and listening, expressing one’s thoughts and feelings, and solving problems together in respectful and responsible ways. We provide a safe and loving environment in which children can ask any question and express any thought or feeling without being judged. The adults in our community strive to model the behavior, integrity, and values they wish to impart to children.

Some ways we realize this value:

Communication

Parent-teacher-family consultant conferences occur twice a year.
Teachers and family consultants meet weekly, both between and among themselves.
Allen Creek Preschool, its teachers, and the Board provide regular updates, weekly and monthly, to parents as individuals and as a group.

Community

An active Parent Council works to support the school community.
Allen Creek Preschool maintains an extensive scholarship program.
Outreach: Allen Creek Preschool professionals have a long history of providing educational services, training and consultations to schools throughout SE Michigan.
Allen Creek Preschool professionals regularly attend early childhood development & education conferences.