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This page is a glossary of terms detailing the organizational structure and various other facts relating to The Early Learning Centers of Rhode Island. It is also a useful guide to daycare facilities in RI.

Upon enrollment, you must provide us with the name(s) of emergency contacts and any person(s) allowed to pick up your child.  Only adults over the age of 18 are allowed to pick up the children.  You must provide the person’s name, address, telephone number and license number.  In addition, this person must provide a valid state identification.  If the pick-up person does not have a valid I.D. to present at the time of pick-up, we will not release the child.  Please make sure that person is aware of the policy and prepared.  You must leave a dated and signed note each day that another person will pick up the child.    Familiy Litihation: If at any time there is a custody dispute between legal parents, please be advised that ELC cannot refuse either legal parent the right to pick up their child without a court order or restraining order.  ELC will not engage in family disputes.  Documentation will only be surrendered with a subpoena.

We understand many children have dietary restrictions due to allergies, religious beliefs and/or personal preferences.  Should you wish to limit or forbid certain food items for any reason, please notify us beforehand and we will ensure that no offensive food item is served to your child.  ELC is a peanut butter free school and is highly conscious of the needs of our families, but we ask that any allegories be reported to the director during initial admission to the center and each year following that.  The director will provide a warning to the teachers concerning the allergies of enrolled students, but it is required that you also take an active part to ensure all teachers are aware of the special needs of your child each day.

Once you are ready to enroll your child with us, please set up an appointment so we can best assist you. We will be glad to take the time to inform you about everything you need to know, including the relevant paperwork. You can make an appointment over the phone at 401 294-4900 or by filling out our contact form. We always appreciate your visit!

Every parent’s little ones often get sick. You should keep your child at home throughout the duration of the illness so as to expedite the healing process and avoid getting the other children sick. When your child is ready to return to day care, we would appreciate a note from their doctor indicating that they are free from contagions.  We continually monitor recommendations for infant safety and growth issued by the State of RI medical board and Department of Education.  This vigilance of your child’s well being has allowed us to meet or exceed guidelines recommended by our DCYF case officer.  Your child’s health is very important to us.  If your child becomes ill while at school, you will be notified immediately and asked to pick up your child within a reasonable amount of time.  Your child will be isolated from the other children and cared for until you arrive.  We have a registered nurse on duty 15 hours per week and on call for questions the remainder of time we are open.  Please review the following exclusion periods for symptoms and illnesses.  This policy is prepared by DCYF and Department of Health, not ELC.  Our facilities are governed by these state agencies; therefore, any policies sent to us must be strictly followed and are not flexible.  Our main concern is to protect the health of all our students.  We reserve the right to dismiss or not accept a child for the day, if we feel they are not well enough to fully participate in the planned activities.  Please feel free to speak to our nurse if you have any concerns.  A full list of symptom and illness exclusion policy is available upon enrollment.

As stated above, tuition is due on the child’s first day of attendance.  Tuition is collected for the last time on Friday morning.  Any tuition that is not deposited by Friday morning will be considered late and will be charged a $15.00 late fee.  Each Saturday the account has a balance, the account will automatically be charged a $15.00 fee.  We reserve the right to terminate enrollment if an account is more than two weeks in arrears.  Frequent delinquency may also result in termination of enrollment.
A service charge of $25.00 will be charged to your account for any returned checks.  The returned check will be re-deposited.  A record of the returned check will be kept on file and more than one returned check will result in a cash or money order payment option only.

Any medication to be administered by the nurse or ELC staff must be accompanied by a signed medication release form by the parent and a dated, signed note or current prescription label from a doctor.  All medications must be in the original prescription bottle including the child’s name, medicine name, dosage, frequency, date and expiration date.  We are unable to give your child medication that is not current or belongs to someone else.  The medication must be given directly to your child’s teacher or nurse for proper handling.  Please do not leave medication in your child’s bag, coat or lunch box.  Upon enrollment, each parent has the option of signing a release for Tylenol or Motrin to be given at the staff’s discretion only, not at scheduled times.   We will make every effort to contact the parent before administering the medication.  Other over the counter medications, such as cold medicines, will only be given at scheduled times with a doctor’s note.  We reserve the right to administer or deny administration of any medication at our discretion.  

Enrollment is limited by DCYF and Department of Education.  ELC structures each schedule to provide consistency in your child’s routine.  Our staff is scheduled according to the schedules of the students per classroom.  Therefore, the schedule you choose for your child must be strictly followed in order to comply with state regulated ratios.  The director must approve any changes in your child’s schedule in advance and your account will be charged $10.00 per extra hour.  If you drop off your child early or pick up your child late without prior consent from the director, your account will be billed at the rate of $10 per 15-minute interval.  If a child is left more than one hour after closing, we will attempt to reach all emergency contacts, and then the proper authorities will be contacted.

Tuition is due on your child’s first day of attendance.    All cash payments need to be dropped off in sealed envelopes with the depositor's name clearly written on the envelope.  An envelope is not needed for check payments, just simply place the check within the drop box.   Please include your child’s full name and the week(s) you are paying for in the memo section of your check or on the front of the envelope.  Tuition may be paid as far in advance as possible, but please remember to include the dates in the memo section.

To determine tuition rates, we average our operating expenses over the calendar year, considering closings and holidays.  Therefore, tuition is due regardless of absence, holiday, school closing, or snow day.  Your tuition will be calculated upon enrollment and will remain consistent each week.  If you need to change your child’s schedule, the director must be notified in advance and will adjust your rate accordingly.  A change in rate will only occur if the schedule change is permanent or lasting more than 5 weeks.  If your child is scheduled for less than full time and you wish to switch or add a day, we can accommodate you based on availability.  The additional day will be charged even if the child will be absent on a scheduled day that week. (After reading this, understand that ELC realizes parents pay their hard earned money for us to stay open, so we will continue our education programs through the worst of Rhode Island's conditions.  The centers do not make any extra money to remain open and actually lose money in an effort to keep the schools free of snow and ice.  We do this because we love our jobs, and we love serving our ELC families.  We will continue the practice of diligently serving Rhode Island daycare families and will only close when informed of a Rhode Island State of Emergency, and instructed to close by the Governor.  Our facilities are well maintained and our maintenance and snow clearing crews will ensure your child is safe and protected when you are ready to pick him/her up at the end of school.)