Chestnut School - Early Education and Arts Program of Elm Park Center

134 Burncoat Street
Worcester, MA 01605
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Phone Number: 
508-856-0782
E-mail: 
chestnutschool [at] aol [dot] com
Open: 
Year Round
Hours: 
Monday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Year Founded: 
1965
Contact: 
Mr. Chuck Demers
Director

We believe that preschool children have the ability to become independent, self-reliant, confident, caring and creative thinkers and doers. It is the job of adults working with preschool children to foster and facilitate this growth with enthusiasm, joy and understanding. With the help of developmentally appropriate materials, methods and environments, we can help to guide each child's social, emotional, intellectual and physical growth and help to celebrate her or his uniqueness!

Infant Openings: 
n/a
Toddler Openings: 
n/a
Preschool Rates: 
Full Week: $220/week, Part Time 2 or 3 days per week: $50/day, Half Day: $33/day
Preschool Openings: 
Yes
School Age Rates: 
Pre K rates are same as Preschool rates.
School Age Openings: 
Yes
NAEYC Accredidation: 
Yes
Teacher to Child Ratio: 

Our house has 4 great preschool rooms, and also 4 rooms for school age children, which is part of our program now.

In the preschool, we have 2 rooms that hold only 7 children each. The other room on the first floor holds14 children with 2 teachers. So the ratio for the younger preschoolers is one to seven. The Pre-K program, in a beautiful, large, L-shaped room on the second floor, can hold 19 children. In this room we have 2 teachers and a floater to help out when needed. All the rooms have bathrooms attached.

The school age program ratio is one teacher to 13 children.

Childcare Agency of the Month Questions
What do you want the children in your care to gain while in your program?: 

First of all, we want the children to be in a safe, caring environment. This is what the parents charge us with and their most important concern. After that, we want the children to develop naturally – at their own individual pace – in all areas of growth. We can help with their physical, social, and mental development. We can enhance their language skills through books, music and conversation. We want the children to love coming to school and to feel they belong here – that is something they will carry with them through life. We want them to be happy, playful, inquisitive, caring, and friendly.

What sets your Agency apart from the other area Agencies?: 

I know there are a lot of wonderful people in this field – that’s why I and most others are attracted to early childhood education: We want to be that person that cares for children and people in general. There is probably nothing more special about our staff than those in other agencies, but we try to take advantage of the special qualities of each teacher and use that to our advantage. Most of us have worked together for a long time, and there is lot of stress in this field. But through time, you learn how to deal with the stress and help your fellow workers, too. So I credit most of the good things we accomplish to staff cohesiveness.

Objectively, we want to become the “arts magnet” of Worcester daycares. We have staff members who are musicians, dance teachers, and artist and art media specialists. We plan to make this a good part of our curriculum and enrich children’s development through the Arts.

Do you have the resources to accept special needs children?: 

We are wheelchair accessible and very willing to work with parents, doctors and therapists to find the right -- or be the right program – for any child.

What is your Agency’s educational philosophy?: 

This is what it says on the front page of our brochure, and we try to live up to this philosophy:

“We believe that preschool children have the ability to become independent, self-reliant, confident, caring and creative thinkers and doers. It is the job of adults working with preschool children to foster and facilitate this growth with enthusiasm, joy and understanding. With the help of developmentally appropriate materials, methods and environments, we can help to guide each child’s social, emotional, intellectual and physical growth and help tocelebrate her or his uniqueness!”

Have you had an “aha” moment with a child and/or a surprising result from the use of a classroom activity?: 

This is too wide a question. The only answer is yes and often. Nothing ever really goes as planned with so many unique individuals taking part in activities. We are the facilitators: We must go with the flow and make the most of any situation, using our knowledge of child development, creativity, spontaneity, and joy of living. I’m so used to thinking this way that nothing “aha” pops into my mind. I just love to watch a child take over an activity and put his or her individual stamp on it.

Is there anything else about your Agency that you would like to be mentioned?: 

The Chestnut staff is grateful to Elm Park Center for the Education of Young Children, its Executive Director Janet McKeag, and its Board of Directors for giving us the opportunity to continue doing what we do! We love the location and the school space at 134 Burncoat St. – it is very similar in capacity to our previous site, but has a much warmer, “home-style” appeal to it. We feel very welcomed here. I think this merger will promote and provide quality childcare in Worcester for years to come at both Elm Park Center sites.

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