I had the pleasure of sitting down with the director of Greenwood Christian Preschool, Nita Schnitzer. In between phone calls and dedicated teachers popping in, we laughed and talked about her preschool. The welcome made me felt right at home, and it was a sure sign of how things are done at Greenwood.
Is the preschool associated with an organization or specific church?
No, the school is not run by an organization or church. Nita Schnitzer is the director and runs the school on her own. Nita prays for the school every morning, and she writes up a morning prayer to be sent by email to all faculty, staff, and parents.
What is the foundation or belief system that the preschool follows?
The preschool follows the biblical teachings of Jesus Christ. It is specified that the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ will be a major subject at the preschool.
Does the curriculum include classes that teach faith based subjects, for example, biblical studies?
Yes, the older classes teach faith based subjects along with the normal education curriculum. The younger classes touch on more kid-friendly activities.
Does the school work with parents like in child development?
Not necessarily, unless there is a problem that we notice. We have experience in seeing how an infant and child should be developing and will give advice to parents if something should arise. We work with parents and their pediatricians or therapists to make their children’s day at the preschool more comfortable and safe.
What is the selection or admission process like for students?
When a parent is interested, we give them a tour of the school and what a typical day will be like. We also like to show the parents what the child will do and learn. After fees have been paid and the tuition has been agreed upon, then the child can begin at our school. We have had children with cerebral palsy, autism, and ADHD. We take in any child and work to meet their needs.
What kind of extra-curricular activities or programs do you offer the children?
Right now we are focusing on teaching the children American Sign Language and Spanish. We see that learning languages on top of normal curriculum could help children unravel quicker. Learning these languages would also benefit the children later on in life.
How long should a parent wait before considering preschool?
A parent should start right away at infancy that way they grow and build a relationship with us. It’s beautiful to see that our children really love attending our preschool and would not want to move on. Most of the time we have very small children because parents have to go back to work and that is how we come to be a great part of your children’s lives.
What is the student to teacher ratio?
The ratio would be a reasonable number. For the infants, it is 4 infants to 1 teacher. The one-year-olds are 5 to 1 teacher. The two-year-old class has 13 children to 1 teacher with an aide. There are 15 children to 1 teacher in the three-year-old class. There are 18 children to 1 teacher in the four-year-old class. The five-year-old class has 20 children to 1 teacher. If the numbers scare you, we would like to remind that these numbers are well below normal school district class ratios.
How is the relationship between parents and the teachers and staff?
Our teachers and parents are allowed to communicate with each other. We like our parents to always know what their child is doing and how they are doing. If a problem should arise, we instruct that our teachers go through our leadership to manage the situation.
Why should a parent choose Greenwood? What are some of your defining qualities?
One of our defining qualities is that our faculty and staff has been with us for a long time. We have some teachers that have been with us for 20 years. I know a lot of parents look to see if we have a loyal and dedicated faculty and staff.
Another thing is that our parents say that they appreciate that we take time to work with them one-on-one and that we actually pay attention to what they need and want. They see the care and dedication that we promise in our understanding and patience.
Greenwood Christian Preschool is located at 12135 Mighty Oak 77066. For more information, Greenwood can be contacted at 281-444-8747 and at greenwoodpreschool@sbcglobal.net
