Health Policies
State regulations require us to maintain a current record of immunizations for each child enrolled. Your child may not attend school without a record of current and up-to-date immunizations on file.
A temperature of 100 degrees or over, discolored mucus in the nose, persistent coughing, diarrhea, or vomiting, are all reasons for a child not to be in school. If your child develops any symptoms of illness at school, you or your emergency contact will be called to take your child home immediately. Your child should be fever-free without medication, for a full 24 hours before returning to school. Do not send your child to school within 24 hours of vomiting or diarrhea. Do not send your child to school when they are not well enough to participate in the classroom and outdoor activities. If your child is too sick to go outside, they are too sick to be brought to school.
Please contact the school by 9:00 AM if your child will not be attending school due to illness. Please notify us promptly if your child has a suspected or confirmed communicable illness so we may monitor the other children who may have been exposed.
If your child needs to take medication during the school day, a Medication Authorization Form must be completed and signed for each medication. All medications must be in their original container, showing the type of medication and the dosage. We will not accept telephone authorizations for administration of medication. Medication should be handed to a member of staff, not sent in the child's lunch box/backpack, etc.
Injury reports will be completed on injuries which require first aid treatment (e.g., scrap/cut resulting in leaking blood, bump requiring the use of an ice pack.) Injury reports will also be completed on all bites that leave a mark. The parents of the children involved are informed of the incident. When older children bite intentionally, the disciplinary guidelines are followed.
More details about our health policies can be found on the Emergency Contact and Medical Authorization Form.
Enrollment and Tuition Policies
No child will be admitted until all fees and current tuition are paid and all necessary forms have been returned to, and approved by, Victoria Smith at Cabot Montessori School.
Tuition will be paid, in full, every month regardless of attendance or payment schedule. There will be no refund of tuition or fees paid. Tuition is due and payable no later than the first (1st) day of each month. If the first day of the month falls on a weekend or observed holiday tuition is due on the last working day of the prior month.Late charges of $35 will be added to all accounts not paid, in full, by the first day of the month. A second late charge of $35 will be added to the account if it is not paid, in full, by the 15th of the month. If tuition for the month remains unpaid by the end of that month, you will be required to make other arrangements for childcare until the account is made current.
School Hours are 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Extended Hours are 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM. If your child attends before 8:00 AM or past 3:00 PM, Extended Hour rates will be charged. A late pick up charge of $5 will be assessed for every five minutes or part thereof past 5:30 PM.
The annual school fee is $200 per child and is applied to the August to July school year. New students will pay the full amount in August. Students who enroll after the school year has commenced will have the school fee pro-rated based on the date of enrollment. For students presently in attendance, half of the annual school fee will be due by February 28th to secure re-enrollment for the next school year. The remaining $100 will be due before the first day of the new school year in August.
When two or more children in a family are enrolled at Cabot Montessori School one child will pay full tuition and each additional child will get a $30 per month reduction in tuition.
School lunch can be provided, by request, for $50 per month per child. It is strongly encouraged for students to bring lunch from home in a lunchbox. Preparing and cleaning up their own lunch is an important part of the Montessori Method. No students are currently participating in the school lunch program.
Cabot Montessori School reserves the right to terminate a child's enrollment if the child's presence endangers the emotional stability and/or physical safety of other children. A parent/teacher conference will be scheduled and the reasons for discharge will be stated.
Written notice is required, at least one month in advance, if you plan to withdraw your child from school before the end of the school year.
More details about our tuition and enrollment policies can be found on the Enrollment and Tuition Form.
Pick Up | Drop Off | Closing Policies
Drop-in/short-term child care is NOT provided by Cabot Montessori School. We do not accept children after 9:30 AM except in the case of an emergency or if prior approval has been made. This policy is in place to maintain a consistent routine for your child.
No child will be released to anyone other than the parent(s) or person(s) listed on the Pick up Authorization Form. If a person not listed on the Pick Up Authorization form needs to pick up your child we must receive your permission, in writing. Permission by telephone is only accepted in emergency situations.
If there are any changes to who is authorized/unauthorized to pick up your child, fill out a new Pick up Authorization Form.
Persons other than parents will be required to present photo identification in the form of a driver's license or a military ID. Parents may also be asked to present photo identification, this is for your child's safety.
In the event of severe weather, power or other utility outages, or any other obstruction to our normal operating conditions we reserve the right to cancel or shorten the operating hours. If Cabot Public Schools are closed then Cabot Montessori School will also be closed. The safety of your child is our primary concern.
Please contact the school by 9:00 AM if your child will not be attending school for any reason.
More details about our pick up, drop off and closing policies can be found on the Pick up Authorization Form.
Nutrition Policies
Box lunches brought to school must consist of a balanced array of nutritious foods. Candy, soft drinks, and other high sugar foods will be removed from lunch boxes and sent home. If a food's first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup or another form of sugar, please do not send it to school.
We are required by the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services to verify that the children are bringing nutritionally sound lunches from home. If the lunch requires us to substitute food items to make it nutritionally sound, a fee of $3.50 will be added to your next tuition invoice for each day requiring substitution.
Personal Belongings Policies
Due to a wide range of activities at school, children should be dressed in comfortable, weather-appropriate, washable clothing. Any clothing that is not machine-washable or stain-resistant should be left at home. If it cannot get dirty, please leave it at home. Do not send in clothing that restricts movement, requires extra assistance to put on or take off (e.g., lace-up shoes, overalls, buckles, button-down shirts, belts, onesies), or shoes that make noise. Slip on or Velcro closure shoes are recommended because they are easy to put on and take off unassisted.
Label all removable clothing items (e.g., jackets, coats, hats, gloves). If an article of clothing becomes wet/soiled during the school day it will either be washed at school or sent home. If it is washed at school, and it is not currently labeled, your child's name will be written on the tag to ensure it is returned to you.
You must provide an extra, weather-appropriate, set of clothes with each individual piece labeled, to be kept at school in the event your child's clothing becomes wet/soiled from play or a bathroom accident. The Early Primary class requires three (3) complete sets. If wet/soiled clothing is sent home, please return another set of clean (labeled) clothing the following day. If your child has no spare clothing available at school you will be called to bring some. We do not borrow clothes from other children. The spare clothing set should include:
- Shirt
- Pants/Shorts
- Pair of Socks
- Underwear
- Shoes (One pair only for the Early Primary Class)
A fitted crib sheet and seasonally appropriate small blanket (label both) will need to be provided for naptime/rest-time. It is not necessary to take the sheet or blanket home as they will be washed at school weekly or more often as needed. The blanket must be something your child can carry and manage on their own as getting out and putting away their own blankets is part of the curriculum.
Diapers (no Pull-ups), wipes, and diaper cream will need to be provided for children in the Early Primary class.
If your child requires the use of a security object (e.g., pacifier, bottle, blanket), please wean them from such devices before they begin school. If your child is already attached to a small soft object (e.g., blanket, lovey, silky, plush animal) they will be allowed to have the object for naptime only (please label with your child's name.) We do not permit the children to carry such items during the school day as they are a distraction from the learning environment.
Please do not allow your child to bring other personal belongings (e.g., toys, candy/gum, electronic devices.) Items of interest to the entire class (e.g., flowers, seeds, empty nests, books, rocks, shells) are always welcomed.
Discipline Policies
Montessori discipline is an inner discipline in which the child develops control over their own behavior, through interest in the Montessori materials, positive social integration, and through the freedom-within-limits environment.
Some children are more successful in an environment with a more direct instructional method of teaching. Parents of children who experience impulsive or aggressive behavior, may be advised to seek a school that specializes in direct instruction.
If the ground rules are consistently followed and positively reinforced, the necessity of external discipline will be diminished. When such external discipline is deemed necessary, the following guidelines will be observed:
- Rules are stated on the child's first day of school. Daily reminders are given, if necessary, to the group as a whole.
- Inappropriate behavior is stopped by the teacher or assistant.
- If the child appears to be "in control", an alternative work/activity is offered. If the child is not able to regain control, they are isolated from work/classroom activities at the edge of the room in a separate chair, for a short time (1 minute per age of child), to re-think their behavior. The child is then asked if they are ready to return to the class. Problem solving skills are reinforced and alternative behavior choices are developed/suggested.
- Continued misbehavior will result in isolation from the group with adult supervision. For example they will be required to sit in the office with a book. Parent will be called to discuss the child's behavior if it reaches this discipline level.
- If isolation is ineffective a parent will be called to take the child home immediately. A conference will follow. If the inappropriate, unwanted, behavior persists, suggestions will be made that an alternative school may better meet the needs of the child in question.
Biting is considered quite a natural reaction in some smaller children. When children are developing their verbal skills, sometimes they cannot speak quickly enough to express their frustration and they use the first thing they think of to "talk". On the other hand, we must keep all of the children at our school safe and secure. Therefore, just like falls and minor mishaps cannot always be prevented, neither can all bites. Injury reports will be completed on all bites that leave a mark. The parents of the children involved are informed of the incident. When older children bite intentionally, however, the above disciplinary guidelines are followed. Parents who have further questions about biting are invited to discuss the matter with the Director.
More details about our nutrition, personal belongings and discipline policies can be found on the Supplementary Policies and Authorizations Form.