About C.A.S.T.L.E. School Age Program
CASTLE is a not-for-profit, nationally recognized and accredited, after school program. Tuition is used to cover the day-to-day expenses associated with the operation of the program and facility, including the mortgage, utilities, salaries, etc.
History of CASTLE
In 1990, The National Association of State Boards of Education published a report titled “Right from the Start”, which described certain characteristics that were critical to a high quality early education program. The report stated that the program should respond to a variety of needs such as:
- Before and after school care
- Health
- Nutrition
- Social and emotional development
The program should provide an environment that recognizes individual, cultural and linguistic diversity among children. It should also actively involve and support parents as partners in the development of their children. Last but not least, this program should draw on the resources and expertise of all agencies and informal networks in the community.
With this in mind, Carol Wheeler, then principal at Jack Jackter Elementary School, formed an Early Childhood Committee consisting of Arline Linger, members from the Board of Education, teachers, parents, and community members and consultants from the State Department of Human Resources and the State Department of Education. One of the findings of the group was that many children were left at home without proper supervision. They felt it made sense to offer a service that would provide high quality before and after school supervision in an environmentally safe facility. Thus, CASTLE: Colchester Alternative School-Age Total Learning Experience was born.
This program opened in the summer of 1991 in Jack Jackter Elementary School using shared space. The program had four full time children enrolled for the summer. In the fall of 1991, before and after school care was provided to approximately fifteen children in the morning and twenty children in the afternoon. Jo Ann Hansen was the Director of the program, Barbara Briger was a teacher and Arline Linger worked as a volunteer in the program.
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In 1992, Barbara Briger and Arline Linger took over as Co-Directors of the program. The program continued to double each year until the fall of 1993, when CASTLE moved to the Colchester Intermediate School. Since CASTLE now had space of their own, they were able to provide before and after school care for Kindergarten students. By the fall of 1994, there were a total of 141 children enrolled in the program, with a capacity to house 112 children at any one time. In addition, a waiting list of 20 children and growing existed.
In December of 1994, the Colchester Intermediate School notified CASTLE that some of the space they were currently using would need to be reclaimed for classroom instruction for the 95/96 school year. Due to the increasing student enrollment in Colchester, CASTLE was slowly being squeezed out of the school system. It was evident that by the fall of 1996, they would not have any space left in the school system to run the program. The mere thought of this was devastating to the Co-Directors and the Board of Directors of the program and to the parents whose children attended the program. It was clearly time for action!
In January of 1995, several parent committees were formed to identify various space options for the program and to evaluate the feasibility of each option. In March of 1995, Dr. Michael Puscas, President of Advanced Training Solutions was hired to help manage the project to acquire permanent CASTLE space. Dr. Puscas met with various town officials and developers in search of space for the program. He was introduced to Ron and Bruce Goldstein of the Paradise Agency, a Property Management and Real Estate business in Colchester. Their proposal was to build a 4500 square foot building on Halls Hill Road that CASTLE could lease. The rest is history!!!!
Today we stand together in CASTLE’s own facility, which was the first of its kind in Connecticut (a non-profit school-age childcare facility with its own dedicated space). The program, which opened on June 24, 1996, at this site, operated with a total of 26 staff members and provided full day summer camp for 85 children. In the fall of 1996, before and after school care was provided for 141 children, with a capacity to house 112 children at any one time. Since CASTLE had always been an integral part of the school environment by participating in and supporting school activities, in addition to their own program, the new facility provided space for the Town of Colchester’s Special Education pre-school APPLE program during its first year.
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CASTLE continued to seek ways to improve the program and the services provided to the families; which attended the center. In May 2002, CASTLE went through a self study process and achieved its goal of National Accreditation from the National School Age Childcare Alliance. Once the goal of accreditation was achieved we began to pursue the notion to obtain ownership of CASTLE. Under the direction of Mr. Scott Boyden and the building committee, CASTLE purchased the building and property in February 2004 in the hopes for future expansion.
CASTLE’s continued efforts to remain a quality program brought us to going through Reaccreditation in December 2005. CASTLE will continue to go through the process in 2009.
We pride ourselves on the fact that CASTLE continues to be at capacity and continues to provide a service to the community with an impressive number of families waiting to get into the program. To open our doors even further, CASTLE, at the suggestion of Superintendent Karen Loiselle, ventured into the pre-school arena. With the opening of a school readiness program for 4 year olds, we are able to service 6 children throughout the community. CASTLE will continue to work on the achievement of the NAEYC accreditation, which is a requirement for the pre-school program.
Mission Statement
Colchester Alternative School-Age Total Learning Experience (CASTLE) strives to provide a quality, safe environment in which school-age children can learn life skills, develop positive self-concepts and recognize the diversity of children through a variety of experiences. These experiences will develop an enthusiasm for learning, exploring and creating.
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Program Goals
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To foster positive self concept in each child
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To help children develop social skills
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To encourage children to think, reason, question and experiment
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To learn and practice life skills
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To encourage and demonstrate sound health, safety and nutritional practices
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To teach children to respect cultural diversity
Program Environment
CASTLE believes that a high-quality school-age program provides a safe and nurturing environment that promotes the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of young children while responding to the needs of the family. All of our programs will be developmentally appropriate – both age appropriate and appropriate to each individual child.
Knowing the basic development of children and youth helps provide structure from which staff carries out enriching activities and promotes a learning environment.
In developing a curriculum, CASTLE staff is responsive to individual needs and differences, with an understanding of individual growth, personality, learning style, strengths, interests, experiences and family background. We are committed to providing experiences that will match a child’s developing abilities, while also challenging that child’s interest and understanding.
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