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For Interested Families
Application for Admission | Tours | NAEYC Accreditation | BrightStars |Program Year Calendar | Eligibility and Diversity | Tuition & Financial Aid | Pre-Enrollment Matters | Testimonials
Application for Admission
Brown/Fox Point enrolls children who are between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. (Due to state statutes, we cannot enroll children who turn 3 after September 1.) Admissions to Brown/Fox Point are determined by an enrollment lottery every spring, with applications due March 1. A $40 non-refundable application fee is also required ($25 for families receiving DHS support).
The enrollment lottery exists to give every family a chance at a spot in the program and to ensure that we maintain diverse classrooms that reflect the community we serve. As a result, we use a cascading lottery system that gives priority to certain applicant categories (siblings of past B/FP students, families receiving state child care subsidies, Brown-affiliated families, families from traditionally disadvantaged community groups in Providence, and gay or lesbian families).
Families are notified in the weeks following March 1. The lottery system prevents us from knowing how many spots will be available, how many applications we will receive, and how many families will accept offered spots. As a result, we appreciate your understanding that we do not know what chances your family has, and we encourage you to apply for spots in other programs.
The application form, due on March 1st for the program year beginning that September, asks questions that are pertinent to this process; while all information is voluntary, we hope that you will fill out the form completely. The form is included here for download or can be requested by mail or in person at the Center.
Tours
For a family learning about any school, there is no substitute for a visit. Therefore, in lieu of open houses and other artificial showcase events, we invite you to tour Brown/Fox Point with the Executive Director during its hours of operation and at your family's convenience. The best times to see the program in action are mornings between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon. Because the environment is very engaging for young children, we strongly suggest that you leave your child in another's care during the tour. Please call 521-5460 or email info@brownfoxpoint.org to schedule.
NAEYC Accreditation
Since 1996, Brown/Fox Point has been accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, a division of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the nation's largest organization of early childhood professionals. NAEYC accreditation is a rigorous, voluntary process by which early childhood programs demonstrate that they consistently meet national standards of excellence. This recognition has been earned by approximately 5% of early childhood programs nationwide.
BrightStars
Brown/Fox Point was the first program in the state to apply for and receive a BrightStars rating as part of the quality rating and improvement system administered by the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children. We currently have the highest quality rating, five stars. You can read more about BrightStars by visiting the website.
Program Year Calendar
Current Program Year Summary Calendar
Eligibility and Diversity
The Center serves children regardless of race, religion, sex, color, or national origin. Children must be at least three years old and must be fully toilet trained.
Our classrooms are places where differences are valued and children and their families are appreciated and respected. Our community is diverse in many ways, including economically, culturally, and linguistically. We include children of differing abilities and work with the Providence School Department to provide special services when appropriate. Using an anti-bias approach, teachers help children to learn about the diversity of our community and to address biases in our society.
Brown/Fox Point strives to be an inclusive community for every child and every family. As a result, Brown/Fox Point is committed to promoting diversity in all its forms, including those related to racial and ethnic identity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexuality, age, family structure, religion, national origin and ability. We actively seek to teach children tolerance of all forms of difference, and just as actively seek to dissuade children from bias about norms and stereotypes. Accordingly, staff are expected not only to embrace such tolerance but also to model it in their own teaching and interactions with children, staff, and families.
An important component to our program is an appreciation of diversity and the value we place on multiculturalism. As with other facets of our program, the multicultural element is drawn from our diverse population of children and their families. Throughout the center and in everything we do, we view and present diversity as a celebration of people, of differences and of ways of living. We hope that children will recognize diversity as an essential and valuable part of society.
Tuition & Application for Financial Aid
External support enables us to offer quality childcare at a reduced rate to those who qualify, including Brown University's generous provision of our school building and our utilities and generous grants from the United Way or Rhode Island, the Dexter Family Fund of Providence, and individual donors.
The current maximum tuition at Brown/Fox Point is $275/week. Financial assistance is available for those families that qualify. A significant number of the families with children enrolled at Brown/Fox Point benefit from financial assistance. Financial aid forms are due by March 30th of each year, and the Center notifies families no later than May 1st of their financial aid eligibility.
- Breakfast, lunch and snacks are included in the tuition fee. Families also have the option of sending food from home.
- You will be billed monthly. Tuition fees must be paid by the 15th of each month. We reserve the right to withhold service if tuition payments become overdue.
- Fees are payable in full regardless of days missed by a child. If your child is sick, or if your family is on vacation, you are still responsible for tuition payments for that period of time.
- Fees are not waived when the Center is closed for holidays, seasonal cleanings, staff development, or inclement weather. Check our calendar and read the notices we post so that you are aware of center closings.
- Children are generally enrolled for a full program year. If you withdraw your child before the end of the program year, we require a minimum of three weeks notice.
- Tuition payments should be made to administrative staff only. Please do not give payments to the teachers.
Families who seek to be considered for financial aid should first download, read and complete the preliminary worksheet:
Financial Aid Preliminary Worksheet (1 page, pdf)
If, based on the preliminary worksheet, you believe you are eligible to apply for financial aid, you must complete the Financial Aid Application Form (available below), which is due (with supporting documentation) by March 30th for the next program year.
The Financial Aid Application asks questions that are pertinent to the process of determining eligibility and amount of aid to be awarded. The information in the Financial Aid Application is used solely to determine a family's eligibility for financial aid; the information has no bearing whatsoever on enrollment. At all stages of the process, each applicant's information is kept strictly confidential.
The complete Financial Aid Application form is available here for download:
Financial Aid Application Form (4 pages, pdf)
Pre-Enrollment Matters
Once you have been notified that we have an opening for your child, you will receive a pre-admission packet which must be completed and returned on or before the child's start date. It consists of six parts:
1. Parent Agreement
2. Admission History of Child
3. Emergency Form
4. Authorized Pick-up Form
5. Community field trip permission form
6. Immunization Record and Health ExaminationItems 1-5 must be submitted accurately and completely well before your child's first day at the Center; item 6 must be on file within 30 days following enrollment. If these conditions are not met, you may be asked to withdraw your child from the Center until the completed forms are provided.
All children must be toilet trained to enroll at Brown/Fox Point. If you have any concerns or wish to discuss toilet training strategies
prior to enrollment, please contact the director.The staff at Brown/Fox Point wants to ensure that your child's transition to the program is comfortable. At least one parent or guardian is required to attend a preenrollment transition workshop with the director to help you determine the best possible way to ease your child's transition. In addition, we very strongly recommend that you and your child visit the center several times prior to your child's first day. During the visit, you and your child will meet the teachers and staff and explore the classroom together. For the safety of your child, all personal information records must be kept up to date. It is the responsibility of parents to notify the office of any change of employment, address, telephone numbers, hours of work, care and/or custody arrangements, and other pertinent information regarding the family. All parents are ensured complete confidentiality.
Testimonials
Current and past families speak of what the Center means to them:
***
We feel fortunate to have found in Brown/Fox Point:
- A place for our son to learn what the word "choice" means, what it takes to make a choice and the responsibilities that come with it.
- A place where "workshops" are offered for parents at the right time for the right subject. We get a lot of useful information and ideas, and it reassures us to see other families facing the same or similar challenges.
- A group of people who care about our son's future. Each week the teacher's report describes what our son has been doing, and provides us with ideas of things we can do at home to encourage or practice what he has learned in school. But most of all, we've found a group of people dedicated to early childhood learning, in an environment where that learning is nurtured and valued. And where the shape of our son's future can begin to unfold.
***
My sprout is my oldest child so Brown/Fox Point is my only point of reference. What I have found is that the level of communication far exceeds my expectations and they were pretty high going in. The staff lays out agendas and after seeking input from the parents and sets out to execute the plans. Every step of the process is transparent leaving very little, if any, room for misunderstandings. This is a huge relief for me.
***
After trying several other child care situations, we have finally found a comfort level and trust in Brown/Fox Point that we did not believe was possible. The program has been enormously supportive of our non-traditional family, and has made many adjustments to ensure the well-being of each of our twins' distinctive personalities. Just the other day, a group of parents stood in the school discussing how we could get the program to extend into elementary school. In short, we don't want our children to leave Brown/Fox Point.
***
Getting our child into Brown/Fox Point is definitely akin to winning the lottery. There are so many times when my husband and I have looked at each other and said, "We are so lucky to have our daughter here". We consider ourselves to be among the truly fortunate to know that our daughter and her classmates get the best care and education possible. Her progress and confidence are so exciting to witness. I just wish she could stay in such an excellent environment for the rest of her school days!
***
Brown/Fox Point is a marvel. It engages our daughter's body, mind, and spirit, with teachers who encourage creativity, foster respect and responsibility, and promote diversity. We are so grateful to be a part of Brown/Fox Point, both for the classroom environment and for its wide and supportive community of fellow families and educators. We particularly appreciate Brown/Fox Point's attentiveness to, and inclusion of, different kinds of families.
***
When our two older children started preschool, the tension associated with dropping them off in the morning went on for years (in some ways, I'm not sure if it ever ended). But at Brown/Fox Point, bringing my son into his classroom in the morning is one of the highlights of the day. He shows me things that he's doing at school, we talk with his new friends for a few minutes, and then we both move on to the rest of our day without tears or stress. This is particularly striking, when you consider what was happening when he started school this fall. He was initially really uncomfortable, largely because he had never spent any significant time in a setting outside of our home, and he went through all kinds of adjustment problems. However, the teachers and staff at Brown/Fox Point handled the situation brilliantly. They met with us within the first two weeks to discuss a whole set of strategies for making the transition easier, and within several weeks our son approached school with a completely different attitude. Now, only a few months later, his anxieties about school have completely evaporated. He proudly tells anyone who asks that he goes to school at Brown/Fox Point, and he loves talking about the things that happen at school, and his teachers and friends.
***
Brown/Fox Point provides an ideal environment for early childhood education. The school believes in focusing on the whole child, paying attention to academic, social, physical, and family factors. Our son has flourished under the guidance of the wonderful teachers and the superb infrastructure. He loves being at school so much that on a recent trip to Disney World he expressed a desire to be back at BFP. As parents, we have received practical advice that has delivered proven results for reducing undesired, yet typical, childhood behaviors. It will be very hard to find another school that measures up to Brown Fox Point once our son leaves.
***
Every day, our son emerges from Brown/Fox Point with a smile and tells us excitedly about the great things that happened that day. The center is a structured, yet nurturing environment where children have fun, get engaged and learn about the people and things around them. We made the right choice for our son's first year of preschool and we look forward to the what's ahead at Brown/Fox Point.
***
"Brown/Fox Point is the best childcare center in town," is what I heard when we moved to Providence, "but it's impossible to get in," is how the sentence always ended. I sent in an application immediately - the only pre-school application for my daughter. My back-up plan was home-schooling if we didn't get in BFP. Imagine the surprise when Chris called to tell me there as a spot available for her, all I needed was a DHS case number. I was self conscious about applying for childcare assistance, and I told this to Chris. "State assistance is for those who need it, and if you do, there is nothing wrong in getting it," was Chris' answer. I was grateful for his matter-of-fact statement, so took a deep breath and admitted to myself that we needed the assistance. My daughter has had two years at B/FP and in this time I have learned to fully appreciate the meaning of Chris's original statement. B/FP's entire culture is based on observing comments. Observing statements have intrinsic simplicity and reliability. I am grateful to have learned them, and I can see them always being part of my daughter's child rearing.
***
I didn't fully appreciate B/FP until an incredible job opportunity appeared without warning and I was able to accept it with 3 days' notice. Unlike my previous work which had the flexible schedule of freelancing this opportunity required a fixed schedule from 8:45 to 4:15. Without BFP this opportunity would not have materialized into a job for me - the life style changes (for both mother and child) would have been impossible to accommodate in 3 days and overall insurmountable. But knowing that my daughter's daily routines will stay the same, I knew I could handle the changes. I now have a "dream job" and I attribute at least 20% of my ability to get this job to BFP and the lessons I learn along my daughter. Thank you B/FP.
***
Our family are grateful to be a part of the B/FP community in a very crucial point in our lives. Our daughter can not be happier going to school. The quality education, communication with teachers and administrators, and emphasis on diversity have made her a more engaging and understanding child. Also, we are able to understand better what kind of activity she enjoys, how she socializes, and how she is developing as a person. However, the benefits are not confined to our daughter. As student parents living on a graduate stipend and constantly being under the pressures of coursework and qualifying exams, we would not have been able to afford our daughter such a great education had it not been for the generous support from B/FP. The financial support has enabled us to maintain a living while myself continuing my studies and my wife graduating and eventually finding a job. The B/FP education and people have become a valuable component of our lives.
***
Copyright ©2002-2010, Brown Fox Point Early Childhood Education Center, Inc.
150 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02906
Phone: (401) 521-5460 Fax: (401) 633-6265
Web: www.brownfoxpoint.org - Email: camirault@brownfoxpoint.org