Additional Health, Classroom & Environmental Policies
Tobacco, Drug and Alcohol Policy
The BECC does not allow any tobacco products, alcohol beverage, or illegal drug use on school grounds including all buildings, the playground, lawns, fields, and parking areas. This is in keeping with the Vermont Early Childhood Program Licensing Regulations.
BECC Animal Policy
The Vermont State Health Department’s recommendations on animals in the classroom states that live animals can pose a health risk to children and staff. However, we also recognize that interactions with healthy, well-supervised animals can add great richness to our curriculum and to children's experience of the world in which they live. We feel that the following guidelines provide a sufficient balance between risk and enrichment:
The risk of various diseases transmitted by wild mammals make them unsuitable for the classroom. Observation of wild mammals in window box insets or on animal feeders that are removed from areas of direct contact with children is permissible.
Domestic Mammals pose less health risk. We feel they are permissible with the following caveats: Teachers must be sensitive to all possible allergy issues, owners must be able to provide proof of rabies vaccination where applicable, and animals must be under the control of owners at all times or under direct teacher supervision.
Reptiles and amphibians may be allowed in the classroom in support of particular curriculum goals if parents of the children in the class are informed and sign a waiver. An objecting parent would preclude having the animal when that child is present.
Non-vertebrates (i.e., worms, insects) are considered to pose little risk, as are fish, and therefore are allowed at any time.
No poisonous animals of any kind are allowed at any time.
Sanitary precautions, such as washing hands after contact, are always followed.
Screen Time
The State of Vermont’s Early Childhood Program Licensing Regulations state that if television/video viewing occurs during the school day it shall not exceed two hours per week and shall be in the presence of staff, educational, and designed for children. Age-appropriate alternatives must be available for those not interested in viewing. We, at the BECC, believe that television/videos/computers should only be used during the school day when necessary to enhance a course of study, and thus are rarely if ever used.
Environmental Resources
The Bennington Early Childhood Center has a policy of demonstrating respect and care for our natural environment. Therefore, we make every effort to eliminate waste and to recycle. Some of the ways in which we do this are as follows:
Children are encouraged to serve themselves only the amount of food that they wish to eat.
We recycle tin cans, glass, paper, cardboard, and plastic whenever possible.
We encourage children to respect our equipment and materials. Paper is used carefully; sometimes both sides can be used for drawing. Markers are recapped. Toys are treated with care and returned to their places on the shelves. Puzzles are finished. Helping the children complete the process of playing with materials shows respect for the environment as well as helping the children to understand the sequence of activities.
We actively collect fruit and vegetable scraps from snacks and lunch for composting.
Our curriculum helps children learn about our natural environment and our responsibilities to care for it.
