Mission & Vision
Mission
Hillside Early Childhood Center delivers a quality, full-day, year-round developmental program, that fosters healthy bodies, joyful hearts, curious minds, and engaged families, in an inclusive and innovative Episcopal Community.
Vision
Hillside Early Childhood Center envisions becoming a model for accessible and sustainable early childhood centers by creating a quality program that embodies the following values and principles.
Educational Philosophy
Hillside ECC believes that a young child learns best with a daily balance of indoor and outdoor play. In addition, we contend that all forms of play are critical to the proper social and emotional development and must precede academic development.
Hillside ECC believes that every child learns best in an environment that honors the child’s developmental age, that the child has the right to grow at his or her own rate, and that the child’s developmental age may not equal his or her chronological age. Academic learning will develop through play and with the integration of literacy, math, and science concepts within classroom materials and planned learning opportunities.
Hillside ECC believes that careful observation and assessment of children and close communication with parents will allow for a cohesiveness between home and school. The home/school connection will allow for early interventions and individualized and developmentally appropriate plans for all children.
Values and Principles
Loves Learning
Hillside ECC fosters creativity, curiosity, and a joyful love of learning by providing a safe, child-centered, experiential learning environment.
Empowers Children
Hillside ECC fosters children’s confidence and capabilities by encouraging children to explore, affirming each child’s importance and uniqueness, and helping children realize that they each have God-given gifts to love and share.
Nurtures Community
Hillside ECC fosters a vibrant connected community by welcoming everyone, listening to the needs of families, encouraging full family participation, and building relationships.
Builds Stability
Hillside ECC fosters family and community stability by providing a full-day, year-round developmental program grounded in Episcopal faith, led by engaged and committed staff and broadly supported by Episcopal, corporate, nonprofit, and public entities. pg. 5 Hillside Early Childhood Center Family Handbook | Updated July 2019
Seeks Improvement
Hillside ECC fosters a culture of critical self-reflection by inviting innovation and requiring clear and transparent systems of accountability.
Non-Discrimination Policy
It is the policy of Hillside Early Childhood Center not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or disability in its services or activities.
All set in a certified Natural Wildlife Habitat environment.
