STAFFING PLAN

All Early Risers employees are First Aid and CPR certified, trained in the use of Epi-Pens, and have been cleared through a Rhode Island criminal background check. Many have degrees in education and a related field, and have or are pursuing degrees. Each year, we train employees to remain current on trends, mandates and best practices in child care and education.

We maintain a maximum child to staff ratio of 13:1 at all times. Please note that volunteers do not count toward our staffing ratio. We aim to be responsive to the community’s need and eventually have Early Risers sites at all three elementary schools and the middle school. Enrollment determines staffing and locations.

ROLES WITHIN OUR PROGRAM

Coordinator

The main focus of the Site Coordinator is the security and safety of our participants. This individual oversees all activities, programming and enrollment, and prioritizes parent and school communication across sites. They are responsible for the daily operations of the program and for ensuring that procedures are followed to ensure safety and program quality.

Site Staff

Each Early Risers site has at least two additional staff members. Staff members work with students under the supervision of the Coordinator and are responsible for leading activities, setting up and putting away equipment, and following all health and safety procedures. They supervise children throughout the program.

Volunteer Mentors

Under supervision, volunteers may engage and support children during program activities.

DAYS OF OPERATION
The Early Risers program follows the Tiverton school calendar. We are open on all school days.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Elementary school students may arrive beginning at 6:45 AM. The program runs until the start of the school day. Breakfast is included, and served to all participants as part of the program.

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAMMING
We now offer TMS students to attend at all 3 elementary locations, they will be picked up at 7:30 and bussed to TMS.

Programming would be modified to an age appropriate level. Early Risers at Tiverton Middle School will have an emphasis on leadership, youth voice & choice, as well as space and time dedicated to homework completion. Until we have reached the enrollment needed to open a middle school site, middle schoolers are welcome to register for Early Risers. This program starts at 6:45, and members will be bussed from our site to TMS in time for the start of their school day.

ARRIVAL
We take your child's safety seriously. We require that your child enter the designated vestibule/doorway accompanied by a parent/guardian. Parents must accompany children into the building for the Early Risers program, make contact with a staff member, and sign their child into the program each morning.

Please park in designated spots at pick-up and drop-off. Please do not leave children unattended in your car. Be certain to turn off your car while you are away from it. At many sites, our playgrounds are adjacent to the parking lots and children may cross the lot or driveway to move between our outdoor and indoor spaces. Please drive slowly and safely when you arrive for drop-off and pick-up. Please be cognizant of all safety procedures our schools and Early Risers sites have put in place for safe drop-off, pick-up, and entry.

ACTIVITIES
Monthly activity calendars are posted at the site sign-in area and sent to participants through email. These activities will typically follow the thematic structure of the week. With the exception of days on which a scheduled activity takes the entire program block, most days will feature both our scheduled structured activity and free playground/gym play. Both structured and “unstructured” play (within the bounds of our behavior norms and expectations) are important to children’s development, and help them practice skills of leadership, teamwork, risk assessment, grit, and more that will serve them well during the day.

Early Risers staff are also available for homework support as needed, and will provide a quiet space for homework and/or reading. However, we encourage our members to complete homework prior to its due date and can not guarantee that all homework will be completed at our site.

ENROLLING YOUR CHILD
Registration is processed online on a first come, first-served basis. Generally, students registered by the 15th of one month may enroll at the start of the following month.

All children who attend the Tiverton Public Schools in grades K-8 are welcome to register for Early Risers. If a child requires extra support to stay safe or fully access our program, we will do everything in our control to ensure that the appropriate supports and personnel are in place. Please note that children with significant or unique support needs may have a delayed enrollment until such time that the district is able to honor their needs. In that case, we would reserve space in the program as we post, interview, and hire to address the needs as quickly as possible.

FEE SCHEDULE
The registration process is secured with an initial deposit of $50.00 per family. Registration for Early Risers is a commitment for the school year, as we hire staff based on projected enrollment for the coming school year. Families may choose to enroll their child(ren) in as many days per week as desired, with a discount for full week enrollment. Rate charts will be distributed to families upon registration or request.

Reduction in the number of days a child attends Early Risers or withdrawing from the program before the end of the school year will result in forfeiture of the deposit for the current school year. Please note that fees do not change based on attendance. Tuition will be billed based on the number of school days per week stated at registration, and remains the same regardless of absences due to illness, family vacations, and/or snow days.

PAYMENT
Early Risers accepts checks, money orders and PayPal. Checks can be given to staff members on site upon drop off, or mailed to 100 North Brayton Road - REAR Tiverton, RI 02878. All checks must be made out to "Tiverton School Department" with "Early Risers" listed in the memo. Electronic payment through PayPal is also available for those who wish to pay electronically. We do not accept cash.

We rely on tuition to keep our program running, and must receive payment in full, on time. Balances in arrears for more than 30 days will result in suspension from the program until the balance is paid in full. We cannot hold spaces for children whose enrollment has been suspended due to non-payment. Families with balances remaining at the end of the school year may not be able to re-enroll for the following year. Please be aware that unpaid balances are considered monies owed to the school district.

CHANGING YOUR CHILD’S SCHEDULE
When you enroll, you make a commitment for the school year. Schedule change and withdrawal requests should be made by emailing earlyrisers@tivertonschools.org. Requests for changes must be made at least two weeks in advance. Families who withdraw before the end of the school year forfeit their $50 deposit.

We understand that, for a variety of reasons, families may want to suspend care and resume at a later date. If such a situation occurs, please consult our Site Coordinator for options. Suspension of care for up to one month may be accommodated if we are notified at least two weeks in advance. Indefinite or extended suspensions of care will result in the forfeiture of the child’s space in the program. If there is no remaining space upon the child’s return, they will be added to our wait list and re-enrolled as possible.

Please note: This procedure also applies to the following school year. If you drop days between June 1 and the end of the school year, you will be placed on our wait list for those days within the following school year. Your space will be open to other families until the last day of the current school year. If it is available at that time, you will be re-enrolled for the next school year.

SNOW DAYS
If Tiverton Public Schools are closed or delayed, Early Risers is cancelled for that day. We do not charge for cancelled days.

If school is open and the Superintendent cancels Early Risers, we will notify parents via broadcast phone call, email, Facebook and Twitter. When bad weather is forecasted, please check email regularly and plan carefully knowing that weather may impact the program. For detailed information into the process of school cancellation, please visit our website.

ATTENDANCE
Parents/Guardians must accompany children into the building for the Early Risers program, make contact with a staff member, and sign their child into the program each morning. Repeated incidents of dropping off instead of walking inside may result in suspension or dismissal from Early Risers. Attendance is logged daily.

We assume that if a child does not arrive at Early Risers, they are safe with you. While we would still appreciate a call about an absence of a child who is enrolled, we will assume that they are in your care.

Children and parents may not access classrooms during this program.

Arrival is an important time for program staff to check in with families. This time is for families to review the sign-out area to learn of upcoming events, sign-ups, and reminders; and for children to discuss their day. We ask, respectfully, that family members end cell phone conversations before entering the building for arrival.

PERSONAL PROPERTY
Children are responsible for taking all of their belongings with them at the end of Early Risers. Any personal property that remains will be taken to the school lost and found. Staff will help children to keep their belongings organized, but will not be responsible for lost property. Please label personal items. Lunch box, book bag, coats, etc. should be clearly labeled with the child's name.

Since we cannot guarantee the safety of personal belongings, we ask that any personal possessions be left in backpacks, and that home toys remain at home unless children are invited to bring in items for home for a special event like show and tell or a teddy bear picnic. In such cases, please do not send valuable or irreplaceable items.

WHAT TO BRING
All children should bring a water bottle, labeled with their name. If you need assistance in obtaining a water bottle, please reach out to our Site Coordinator.

Children should come dressed for the weather. Please consider the forecast when dressing/packing for the day. Storage space for coats, boots, hats, etc. varies from site to site, so don't forget to label everything!

All children should wear or bring sneakers for the gym and playground.

WHAT NOT TO BRING

Toys

It is our experience that toys or other items brought from home often get lost, damaged, or lead to hurt feelings. Except for special days when all children are invited to bring items from home, we ask that personal items stay at home or in backpacks.

Devices

Our goal is for children to socialize with peers and engage in the dynamic Early Risers programming. Additionally, we do not have space to store devices, and would not want them to be broken or misplaced. Therefore, we do not allow the use of personal electronic devices at Early Risers except on special days when children may be invited to bring them in.

COMMUNICATION
Effective communication between families and Early Risers staff is essential. Please check in with an Early Risers staff member each morning at arrival, if only to say hello, for safety and to give us an opportunity to share information. Please let us know if there are changes going on in your home, so we can give your child the best support possible.

Our primary method of program-wide communication is email. We send bills, invoices and announcements via email. Communications related to student social emotional or behavioral supports will include a cc to your child’s school Principal.

We will place all forms on the Early Risers page on the TPS website. Make sure you are subscribed to your school's e-blasts; families who have asked to be unsubscribed from all district e-blasts cannot receive our newsletters.

HEALTH & SAFETY
Early Risers staff members are CPR and First Aid certified and trained to use Epi-Pens.

If your child has an allergy, asthma, dietary restriction, or existing medical condition, the school nurse has established an alert in our district student information system. Our coordinator sees these alerts and is aware of your child’s documented care needs.

In the case of a condition that requires an inhaler or an allergy that could lead to an anaphylactic reaction, you must deliver an additional Epi-pen and/or inhaler to your school nurse to share with the Early Risers coordinator with your child's photo attached, before their first day. We do not have access to inhalers/Epi-pens held by the school nurse and therefore require separate ones.

Because we typically have at least one student with a life-threatening allergy at each of our sites, foods that contain peanuts or tree nuts as an extra snack are not permitted and this policy will be strictly enforced. Thank you for your help in keeping all children at Early Risers safe.

Only the school nurse may administer routine medication. Please arrange your child's medication schedule accordingly.

For minor injuries, staff will provide a band-aid or a cold pack. For a more serious injury or illness, staff may contact parents to share information. In the case of an emergency, staff will call 911, then the parents. Please make sure that the district has up-to-date contact information for you in the student information system so that we can reach you quickly in the case of an emergency.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL & BEHAVIORAL SUPPORTS
Children join us at the beginning of a long day. Therefore, our schedule and environment are designed to minimize situations in which a child may have difficulty meeting our expectations. We provide a mix of activities so that children have the opportunity to relax and socialize with peers, have quiet time, participate in small and large groups, and enjoy activities in the gym or on the playground. The following are basic student conduct guidelines used at Early Risers:

Everyone should keep hands, feet, and objects to themselves at all times
Everyone should be at all times respectful, without engaging in teasing or name-calling
Everyone should follow directions and adhere to school wide expectations

Early Risers shares a common goal with each school: to support children in acquiring the skills they need for self-regulation and successful conflict resolution. All staff are trained in consistent and positive behavior management techniques including friendly reminders, encouragement, reinforcement of desirable behaviors, quiet problem-solving conversations, breaks, and redirection to a more positive activity.

Participants will be recognized for positive behavior in a variety of ways. These may include verbal recognition, visual “shout-out” boards, awards, and family engagement events where students can showcase the amazing projects on which they have worked.

When conflicts arise, our goal is to repair the harm to relationships by helping students:

Develop and practice empathy
Figure out how to “make things right” (examples might include cleaning up a mess, helping set up a future activity to make up for time cost, or writing a letter to a peer)
Consider alternative behaviors and prepare for future conflicts

We understand that social engagement, emotional regulation, and proper school behavior are skills that may take more practice for some people than others. We will make every effort to support your child(ren) and encourage positive behavior, as well as to communicate with families and school staff for wraparound support. In the event of a behavior that could lead to suspension, the site coordinator will begin a behavior log and contact the child's Principal to learn about any strategies or supports already in place. In the event of a second incident, the site coordinator will set up a meeting with the child's parent(s)/guardian[s] to develop a behavior plan specific to Early Risers. This plan will include parameters for keeping the other children and staff safe, including at what point and in what circumstances the parent will be called to take the child home, and what next steps may be taken if incidents continue.

Early Risers reserves the right to recommend suspension from the program if it is determined by the director that his/her presence in the program is so uncontrollable or violent that the program staff cannot reasonably guarantee the safety of staff or other program participants. Suspension recommendations would be considered according to policy. There will be no tuition refunds for suspensions. Should it become necessary, a tuition refund for removal from the program would be granted.

POLICY
All school committee policies apply to students attending Early Risers.

Tiverton School District

Early Risers Program

General Information

Early Risers FAQs

Early Risers Handbook

Early Risers Registration

Early Risers Payment Information