Childcare Ages 0-5 years old Monday-Friday 7 am - 6 pm

Before and After School Program

Summer camp

We are a five star licensed and accredited preschool program committed to giving young children the necessary foundation for a successful transition to kindergarten. We respect the cultural diversity of children by offering a variety of multicultural learning materials and experiences through a bilingual curriculum.

At the Children's Learning Center we offer

• Quality early childhood development services for young children ages 6 weeks to 5 years in the South Valley by nurturing them and empowering their families.
• After school care to children ages 5 to 12 years

             We Accept CYFD vouchers for low income families 
​
       

Children's Learning Center

Contact Information 
Diane Lozano Office: (505) 724-4645 Cell (505)850-6039 Email: lozanod@ccasfnm.org
Main Office (505) 724-4643
Center Hours: ​Monday-Friday 7:00 am-6:00 pm  

Our Mission 

​​To provide quality early childhood development services for young children in the South Valley by nurturing children and empowering their families. 

Our Philosophy, Principles and Goals

​We believe children learn from adult interaction and positive redirection. We ensure that our teachers and staff are highly trained and qualified. The staff at Catholic Charities strives to build positive relationships with children and their families. Our classrooms are designed to enhance children’s learning through promoting creativity, problem solving, and role-play, and practicing fine motor and gross skills. By allowing the child to understand they have a choice and their choices are valued we allow the child to develop into his/her own person. We strive in accepting every child for who he/ she is without prejudice. Catholic Charities Children’s Learning Center believes the involvement of parents in their child’s education is imperative.

Principles and Goals

1. Provide high quality low cost childcare in the South Valley area.
2. Provide the children we serve with high quality care and education. We believe all children, no matter their financial situation, are entitled to high quality care and education. Catholic Charities Children’s Learning Center provides a standardized curriculum that focuses on learning and preparing them for a successful future in school.
3. Have highly effective, supported and trained staff. It is important to us as an agency for staff to be well trained and supported. Catholic Charities Children’s Learning Center staff is one of the highest paid staff in the city of Albuquerque. Our staff is to have a minimum of 30 training hours per year. 

Curriculum and Assessment  

The curriculum focuses on teaching children creativity and artistic expression, letters and phonics, concepts of print and reading comprehension, communication and vocabulary, emergent writing, counting and number concepts, reasoning and logic and rhythm, movement, dance and music.
​
The children in the Early Head Start Program are assessed with the Ages and Stages questionnaire on a schedule provided by Early Head Start.  The children in the preschool are assessed using the New Mexico Early Learning Outcomes and an in-house English assessment in the fall and again in the spring.  All assessments must be completed for all children attending the Children’s Learning Center. When doing assessments, we encourage parents to share observations of their own with the teachers.

Procedure to enroll

​It is important for a parent to complete the following before a child may begin to attend the center.

1. Complete Enrollment packet
   1. Family information sheet
   2. Child information
   3. Emergency contact/ pick up
   4. Payment contract
   5. Parent handbook agreement
   6. Behavior Management policy
   7. Special Requirements
2. Bring CYFD contract (if applicable)
3. Provide a copy of updated immunization record
4. Provide copy of doctors notes or court documents if applicable.
   

New family Orientation
​
During the enrollment process the Program Coordinator or Director will give the new family a tour and revise the Family handbook with the family to discuss all policies and procedures. During this time, the new family will meet with the teacher and discuss any concerns or interest of the child 

Fees and Payments 

All payments are due the 5th of every month.
Payment arrangements can be made with the Director or Program Coordinator only.
If  payment is not made in full and there is no payment arrangement a $25 late fee will be assessed to your account.
If there is a payment arrangement is made and the account is not paid in full by the end of the month, there will be a late fee of $25 assessed to the account.
​If you do not comply with your payment arrangement, there will be a late fee assessed. 

Fees

Full-Time 1 year old and up                                     $525 a month per child and 10% discount a month for every child thereafter.

Full- Time 6 weeks to 1 year old                             $600 a Month.

CYFD                                                                           Depends on contract

Before school                                                             $100 per child

After School                                                                $200 per child

Before and After school                                           $300 per child

Extra day (emergencies only, and city program) $40 per child

Late pick up fee                                                          $1 per minute per child

Late payment fee                                                        $25

Annual Registration Fee                                             $50 per child

*Catholic Charities is a non-profit, therefore we do not charge taxes

Quality Care 

​Catholic Charities Children’s Learning Center strives to provide quality care for all children an families served in the center. We do this by:

• Highly trained staff
  • Our staff is required to have at minimum 45 hour course.
  • Staff receives no less than 30 training hours per year.
  • Nationally Accredited
    • Accredited through Council on Accreditation (COA).
  • Low Teacher: Child ratios
  • Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum. 

Child Supervision  

There must be a minimum of two qualified staff members opening and closing the center at all times. If there are less than seven children, the second staff member may perform other duties such as cooking, cleaning or bookkeeping.
Catholic Charities puts the safety and developmental needs of the children at the very highest priority. Because we care about their needs, we ensure they are always in a safe and enriched environment. Children are supervised at all times for the safety of the children and to ensure the quality in all of our services. The following staff to child ratios are kept and maintained at all times:

Age group                                   Staff:child ratio

Birth- 14 months                               1:4
15 months to 23 months                 1:6
24 months to 35 months                 1:6
3 years to 4 years                              1:8
4 years to 5 years                             1:10
5 years to 12 years                           1:12

​

Communication with Parents 

Teacher-Parent communication
Teachers must communicate on a daily basis with parents, whether it be through daily sheets, in person or on the phone. Teachers must communicate unusual occurrences, successes and any other important information about a child’s day. If changing diapers, teachers must fill out a daily sheet where they write down every time the child soiled the diaper, what and how much they ate, drank etc.

Parent-Teacher conferences
Parent- Teacher conferences will be held twice a year.
Parent – Teacher conferences are the time for teachers to understand the family, express concerns and share the success of every child. This time is to be used as a time for families to ask questions and get clarification of anything they have doubts about, although communication is encourages on a daily basis.
Teachers will fill out a parent-teacher conference form, and give a copy to the parent as well as keep a copy for themselves.
A survey will be given to parents at every conference.
​
Parent Education nights
The center will have parent education night at least twice a year.
Parent education will be culturally sensitive and inclusive for the families served at the Learning Center. 

Class Dojo 
We communicate with parents about activities, calendar, parent meetings, etc. using this app. ​

Tips for Parents 

Get involved!
We ask that parents become involved in the center and learn about what their child is doing in class. Get involved in the activities happening with the center.

Communicate!
If there is something going on at home or any major changes that might impact your child’s behavior or attitude, inform your child’s teacher and/or the Director. It is important that we know what is going on at home. We will know how to talk to or redirect your child when he/she is having a hard time.

Read
Read the policies and procedure updates, and read the full parent handbook become to familiar the program.

Meet the center
Allow your child to see the center before their first day of attendance. Catholic Charities Children's Learning Center believes that transition for a child is important, therefore we request that parents spend some time with their child before leaving the child a full day alone. 

Before and After School Program

Ask about transportation to/from schools.
​Ages 5 to 12

Before school                                                             $100 per child
After School                                                                $200 per child
Before and After school                                            $300 per child

Summer camp Program

Summer program is offered to siblings of children that participate in the program. Ages 5-12