St. George’s Church Expanding Its Educational Offerings To Include Kindergarten & First Grade

By Lynn McGuire

After identifying a gap in available services for kindergarten students, St. George’s Episcopal Church began a market survey of local parents in a 15-to-20-mile radius to determine the type of programs that might be desirable for kindergarten age children. One of the primary gaps in service has to do with the fact that the Shenendehowa Central School system only offers half-day kindergarten programming, and this can present a disadvantage for families with both parents working.

St. George’s has been offering a vigorous preschool program that serves 120 children who are 3 and 4 years old. The focus groups showed that many of the current parents would choose to have their children remain in the same environment after pre-K. Additionally, the flexibility of the curriculum development and implementation afforded to a private school was also attractive to parents.

The Episcopal tradition of academic excellence focuses on individual attention, allowing the children to progress and explore at their own pace where the Christian context is appreciated. The approach ”...shines the light of inquiry on various belief systems, also,” said Phyllis Aldrich, a member of the board of trustees. “We are looking to prepare children for a life of purpose; being happy and harmonious with a sense of wonder, intellect and discipline.”

“We are opening with two combined kindergarten and 1st grade classes in the 2010 - 2011 school year. We will have two teachers for each group of 15 students, with no more than 30 students total admitted in our first year. We are hopeful that we will be adding a grade each year, up to 5th grade. The curriculum will be based upon an enriched program of theme based study,” she added.

The school will be housed in the existing space at St. George’s Church on Route 146 in Clifton Park. In addition to the “school day” activity, St. George’s is also offering before-school programing that is available from 7:00 a.m. - 8:15 p.m. and an after school enrichment program that further supplements the inquiry-based learning focus. The after school program will be available from 2:15 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. daily.

Annual tuition for the kindergarten and 1st grade program is $6,000. The before and after school programs will be available for $7.00 per hour.

Interested parties should contact St. George’s at 518-371-6351 for a brochure and an application. Information is also available on the internet at http://www.stgeorgescp.org/school.