Philosophy
Fraser School® is a comprehensive early childhood education center, licensed by MN Department of Human Services and accredited by the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation Council and Commission. We are licensed for 163 children from 6 weeks to 6 years of age. Fraser School® is open year-round, Monday through Friday, except holidays, staff development days, and conference days.
- infant and toddler care
- preschool
- prekindergarten (kindergarten readiness)
- extended care
- subsidized childcare
- information and referral for services for children with autism, mental health needs, intellectual or developmental disabilities
- collaborations with other programs serving Fraser School, including rehabilitation therapy and early childhood day treatment
At Fraser School®, we recognize the unique abilities of each child. Our inclusive classrooms welcome children of all abilities. We recognize children with disabilities and those with typical needs all benefit from shared growth and learning experiences. By playing together, children learn about our differences in abilities, talents, appearances, languages, and background experiences that create the rich diversity of our society. Inclusion provides an enlightening and motivating environment for all children.
- play periods are as important as time spent in a structured learning environment.
- children need to be active learners through play, exploration, and constructive learning.
- through hands-on interactions with objects and diverse people, children begin to figure out how the world works.
- all children develop differently. We meet them where they are at to support their development and set them up for success.
- music therapy plays an integral role in physical, cognitive, and social/emotional development.
Our developmental philosophy is based upon the work of social scientist Lev Vygotsky. He theorized children learn best through social interactions with others who are more knowledgeable in a particular skill or topic. Through these interactions, children can achieve and understand more than they could on their own. Both children and adults can build upon a child’s current knowledge base. Vygotsky labeled this phenomenon “scaffolding.” With children, these moments of scaffolding occur spontaneously as children interact.
Fraser School® encourages these social interactions through a play-based environment. Play is a foundation for development and is the primary tool children use to learn. Our highly qualified staff members utilize The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos. and The Creative Curriculum for Preschool. as a basis for their teaching. They use the classroom environment and a balance of activities to guide children’s growth in the four major areas of development (cognitive, physical, language, and social-emotional), as well as in the academic areas of literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, technology, and the arts (including scheduled music sessions). The teachers individualize their plans to meet the developmental stages of each child in their group. They also support and encourage each child to build their self-esteem to help with their future success.
Since each child reaches developmental milestones at a different rate, the goals and objectives are general for each age range. The Minnesota Early Childhood Indicators of Progress are a core document of the goals and objectives of children’s development. https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/early/ind/
The teaching staff use authentic observations and informal evaluations to gauge each child’s progress on each developmental objective in the assessment tool. The staff complete an online assessment to document a child’s progress over time. The objectives are in the four major areas of development: social-emotional, physical, language, and cognitive. There are also developmental goals in literacy, mathematics, science and technology, social studies, and the arts. There are also special sections for the progress of English language learners and an optional physical skills section.
