About Us
Heathrow Christian Academy at Markham
Woods Presbyterian Church is dedicated to providing a Christian based school
experience for all children. With emphasis on God's
love, our school strives to be a witness to the church's commitment to
nurturing children and their families. Our certified teachers and hand selected curriculum encourages enthusiasm for learning, a
positive self-image, and an understanding of the love of God.
Curriculum
Overview
Heathrow Christian Academy currently uses the
Creative Curriculum. Creative Curriculum guides teachers in fostering
positive responses to Erik Erikson's stages of socio-emotional
development. Children learn to trust others, gain independence and
self-control, and take initiative and assert themselves in socially acceptable
ways. Teachers help children feel safe and encourage them to explore both
new materials and new relationships with peers and adults. The curriculum
will encourage enthusiasm for learning, promote a positive self-image,
emphasize the love of God, and affirm MWPC's commitment of nurturing the
students and their families. The Creative Curriculum for Preschool and
Kindergarten provides teachers with a clear and concrete way to apply child
development and learning theories to their everyday work with preschool
children. Its underlying philosophy draws from widely accepted research
and theories of child development and learning.
Teachers using The
Creative Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten are able to meet the
needs of children with a broad range of abilities. Children with different
learning styles and needs are able to function together in a well-organized
environment. The Creative Curriculum® Developmental
Continuum helps teachers focus on the sequence of the development of skills
and learning to help all children grow and develop.
With an
understanding of content and how children learn it, teachers can expand the
opportunities they offer children to acquire knowledge and understand concepts.
They can make a direct link between the preschool curriculum and what children
will learn in elementary school. When the content of the curriculum is taught
with children's development in mind, children are more likely to be successful
learners who feel excited about and challenged by what they are learning.
A weekly chapel
will be held for the three and four-year-old students and Kindergarten, which
will include Bible story lessons, songs, and prayer. Daily prayer times will be
conducted before snacks and lunch.
Supplemental Curriculum:
- Healthy Habits for Life Curriculum developed by Nemours Children’s Hospital
- Handwriting Without Tears
- Conscience Discipline
- Growing UP Wild!
- VPK Standards as set forth by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE)
- FLDOE
Standards
Accreditation
Heathrow
Christian Academy at Markham Woods Presbyterian Church has earned accreditation
from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) - the
world's largest organization working on behalf of young children.
NAEYC
Accreditation is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system that
uses a set of 10 research-based standards to collaborate with early education
environments. Less than 10 percent of all child care centers, preschools,
and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.
To earn
NAEYC Accreditation, HCA went through an extensive self-study and
quality-improvement process, followed by an on-site visit by NAEYC Assessors to
verify and ensure that the program met each of the ten program standards, and
hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. NAEYC-accredited programs
are always prepared for unannounced quality-assurance visits during their
accreditation term which lasts for five years.
If you have any questions regarding the school program, please contact us at (407) 333-2045.