Partner with AEME at Your School
If you are a school administrator or community member that has space in your school district, AEME is the perfect partner to collaborate with. Because schools already have a classroom infrastructure built out, we can seamlessly integrate our pre-K program into your existing space, offering several benefits to your school and the district’s families.
- We can help draw more families to your school.
- We offer smooth, supportive transitions from our preschools into kindergarten and elementary school.
- We manage the entire work/responsibility of running the preschool.
- We perform student assessments 3x/year to identify learning delays, disabilities, and behavioral changes and link the children and families to interventions and support.
- Our programs promote active engagement from parents in their children’s learning, their activities and school conferences, and in the school at large (which drives higher attendance rates overall).
- We help children whose primary language isn’t English enter elementary school with English reading/writing skills.
Why Existing Schools are a Perfect Site for Pre-K
While AEME can renovate and redesign site locations so they’re appropriate for pre-K programs, we find that existing schools often have everything that’s needed to positively impact a community quickly. Our program integrates best when we can collaborate with you on:
- Access to at least two unused classrooms within a larger school community (access to plumbing in the space, like sinks or even connected bathrooms, is especially optimal)
- Large outdoor play areas, and perhaps access into your gymnasium
- Student transportation (if you provide the ECE students bus and driver, we can financially cover the staff to go on the bus to take care of the kids and allow the driver to drive)
- Student nutritional program (if your school can provide breakfast and lunch meals, we are happy to work with your team to smooth out the process; alternatively, if we manage meals, we adhere to food handling requirements, and typically serve the meals within the classroom to not disrupt partner school meal operations)
- If the host site is an elementary school, then our students have the opportunity to attend school with their older siblings and can transition in place into your elementary school program
Want to learn more about the ins and outs of how we operate our program onsite with you?
How We Work with Families
We engage families through a variety of means to ensure we’ve being successful and providing the services they need.
- We conduct community outreach to local families with the highest needs within your school catchment area for enrollment.
- We help families to access resources they need and emphasize the importance of stable daily school attendance.
- Our families will have lots of access to parent events with our school, and we love to collaborate to build engagement and connection with host site. We use interpreters and arrange for parent handbooks translations.
- We assist families with transition into kindergarten and elementary school.
- We provide families with books and resources to read to their children and actively lead their education.
- We can increase connections with health programs for very young children and families.
- Providers gain feedback from parents on what they want, need, and value for their families.
- We recruit and hire classroom assistants from the community.
Our Education Model
We deliver excellence in early childhood education through a unique approach that brings accessible and high-quality learning to every child.
- Our programs have active wait lists, and we can serve as an enticing special benefit for families in your school and school district.
- Our educational model is highly effective with dual language learners. Our classrooms emphasize language development, preparing our children to gain the English writing and reading skills they will need in your classrooms.
- High attendance rates and standards – preparing children and families for strong attendance when they transition into elementary grades.
- Children learn grace and courtesy lessons to use in everyday school and home life and gain social emotional self-regulation skills.
- We conduct screenings and formative assessments for all of our students. This includes Ages & Stages questionnaires and referrals into services at a young age when interventions have the greatest opportunity to be of benefit.
How We Operate the Program Financially
All operational costs are covered by AEME at no cost to the Host Partner or Families we serve.
- Furnishings, educational materials, and classroom/office supplies and equipment. We purchase for opening and are responsible for refreshing/replacing ongoing.
- Staff salaries, payroll taxes, benefits, and workers compensation.
- Staff recruiting, professional development, substitute coverage and staff supervision and support.
- Student snacks during the school day.
We take full responsibility for financial and compliance operations for the classroom(s) educational program.
- ECE Grant applications, reports and compliance.
- Invoicing, bookkeeping and financial reports.
- Childcare licensing and compliance as a Certified Child Care Center, initial and annual renewal. Handling of all compliance and inspections. Water testing, Sanitation Inspections, Child Care Licensure Inspections and coordination with Fire Marshall Inspections.
- Insurance coverage: Student Accident, General Liability, Crime Insurance, Professional Liability.
- Non-Profit business license and tax filings.
Our Commitment to You
We understand opening your school and community to another organization is personal. AEME staff always work from a place of compassion and respect, aim to be additive force for good in your school, and are in Oregon’s Central Registry, which conducts thorough background checks.
When we partner with you, we make a formal long-term commitment to your school community and a dedication to collaborative partnership. We do this while allowing your school leadership to focus on their core work, as we focus on the educational and social needs of our young learners. Depending on the needs of the space and community, we can also provide the following:
- Grant writing to secure needed funds to renovate the space to operate as a welcoming, safe and child-centered preschool, including handwashing sinks and tiny toilets as part of the classroom environment.
- Purchase and collaborate with our host for the design and installation of outdoor play equipment and area designated for very young children (including fencing, protective barriers from vehicular traffic, and covered outdoor area).
- Collaborative approach to decisions on educational schedule. School year- or year-round model. School day (aligned with your schedule) or extended day.
- Full partnership with your school’s day-to-day operations (e.g., safety drills, picture day, parent events, data entry into your student database system, attendance information for food program and district reports, etc.).
- Support for your entire school’s parent engagement activities, with a parent outreach coordinator that can help improve kindergarten enrollment (in English, Spanish, or with interpreters as needed). This person works to link parents to community resources like housing support and school stability education (e.g., around regular school attendance, parent involvement, and timeline parent-school communication).
- Janitorial/maintenance support.
- We bring beauty into the classrooms, and our goal is that all of our children are confident and joyful learners. Your team will be proud to show off our classroom(s) as part of their school community.
Do You Have Space? Are You a Possible Site Host?
AEME eagerly seeks partnerships with organizations that are passionate about making a meaningful investment in the lives of local children. By offering their facilities as hosts for tuition-free, Montessori-inspired preschools, these organizations can join forces with AEME in shaping a brighter future for the community’s youngest learners.
Site Host Interest Form
Our Partners
Enhanced Support for Students and Their Families
