FAQ's
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The Chabad Garden School unites children, teachers, family and community in a positive and constructive early childhood experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. My family is Reform/Conservative/Observant/Not observant - will we feel comfortable at Chabad Garden School?
A. Yes! CGS is a warm, inclusive environment. We are proud of our diverse background of families. We have been successful at creating an environment that is true to our mission of community, caring and respect.
Q. What are the school hours?
A. The basic school day is from 9:00am – 3:00pm. We will also offer full day care from 7:30am to 5:30pm.
Q. Tell me about lunch and snacks.
A. Lunches and snack come from home. Some of the children keep Kosher, some do not, so we don't share lunch with our friends. Each family provides fruit and vegetable snack for the whole school for one or two weeks of the school year. This ensures fresh fruit or veggies each day for the children. It is easy and we will give you ideas of quantities.
We are exploring the option of providing hot, nutritious lunches that will be available at an additional fee. Our lunches will feature a well-balanced menu consisting of fresh ingredients, produce, soups and whole grain ingredients.
Q. What is the tuition?
A. Please contact our school for tuition information.
Q. Are scholarships available?
A. Scholarships and partial scholarships are available as long as there are funds in our scholarship account.
Q. What is the teacher to student ratio? How many teachers and students are in each class?
A. We have higher teacher to student ratios then is expected of our school from either the Department of Public Welfare or Keystone Stars. This means there are more teachers than required for each group size.
Q. What degrees do the teachers have?
A. All of our teachers have more than ten years teaching experience and have teaching degrees in varying levels from bachelors to masters. Additionally, our teachers are CPR/First Aid Certified and are trained in emergency safety protocol that our school follows very carefully.
Q. What is a typical day at Chabad Garden School?
A. There is nothing typical about a day at CGS, each class has a different tempo and the teachers are very in tune with the needs of the children. The children have a long morning hour of work activities, all addressing the skills of early childhood, like math, science, pre-writing, literacy, art, fine motor, sensory and more. Children have outdoor time each day-weather permitting. There is a small and large circle time which includes songs, movement and storytelling. There is snack and lunch, and dramatic play with blocks, dress up, kitchen and more.
Q. What special activities are offered at CGS?
A. Music, Shabbat and holiday parties, and art are only a few of our growing list of the special activities at CGS
Q. Is there a summer program at CGS?
A. Yes! CGS offers a summer camp program during the summer months.
Q. What can parents do to be involved?
A. We encourage parents to participate in being a class parent, participating in facilitating school wide events like Thanksgiving, Chanukah parties, and Shabbat dinners.