FAQ

For more Information contact: mariana@tiniciti.com andres@tiniciti.com maru@tiniciti.com

Choosing a PreSchool

What is the school’s safety measures?

At Tiniciti, our uncompromised security team and staff are constantly monitoring the environment to ensure that all children can play, learn, and interact in a safe and nurturing indoor and outdoor spaces. Safety starts with perimeter outdoor and indoor cameras and a security gate, where families must key in to reach the front door. Sign in and sign out methods enable staff to monitor who drops off and picks up each child.

What is the curriculum used?

Tiniciti Preschool’s extensive curriculum is inspired by the Multiple Intelligence theory, which was founded by Howard Gardner, Ph.D., Professor of Education at Harvard University. The Multiple Intelligence theory stems from the belief that each child has a unique set of capabilities, strengths, and inherent ways in which they are able to demonstrate intellectual abilities.

How convenient is the school’s schedule?

Tiniciti is open 8am-8pm 5 days a week and 10am – 11pm on weekends, 358 Days a Year!

Does the school offer any enrichment activities?

In addition to the daily age-appropriate activities, all Tiniciti students participate in Music, Yoga, Dance, P.E, Science and Art with professionals in their respective industries.

How diverse is the school?

Multicultural, bilingual and multidisciplinary environment with 30+ represented countries and languages in our student and staff body.

How qualified are the teachers?

All Tiniciti Preschool teachers are passionate and fully equipped with early childhood experience, certificates, and accolades. These include the Florida Department of Children and Families state agency certificate, Continuing Education hours and training twice a month and great family reviews!

What is their take on nutrition?

Tiniciti provides a healthy and well-balanced, homemade lunch, and healthy snacks are provided twice a day. A new menu is updated and emailed to parents monthly. Our food is prepared daily by an in-house chef who analyzes recipes and reviews the menus for balance, completeness, and accuracy.

What about parent participation?

Tiniciti Preschool operates an Open Door Policy for all parents. The purpose of our Open Door Policy is to encourage open communication, feedback, and participation. Our Open Door Policy means that parents are welcome to come and sit in a teacher’s classroom with their child. This way, they can experience first-hand what class feels and looks like from the perspective of the students. Parents are always invited to attend our celebrations, field trips, community events, lectures, and assemblies.

How inclusive is the program?

Tiniciti’s all-inclusive philosophy allows children to learn, grow, enhance their skill levels, develop healthy self-esteem and form close relationships with their teachers and classmates daily. Thirty+ countries and a plethora of languages are represented in our student and staff body! This enhances children’s vocabulary, comprehension skills; in turn, this expands the child’s knowledge base and confidence.

How do Tiniciti teachers communicate with families?

We strive to keep parents connected with what matters most to them: their child’s well being and progress.
Through our school app, we stay in communication with families throughout the entire day. We issue reminders and alert parents about events, updates, and emergency notices by sending texts, email newsletters and push notifications directly to their phones.

Practical Information

What are Tiniciti Preschool’s hours of operation?

We are open Monday through Thursday from 8am-8pm, Friday’s from 8am–11pm, Saturday’s 10am–11pm, and Sunday’s from 10am-6pm. Hours are subject to change on certain holidays. Please review the annual school calendar for details.

How do we get to Tiniciti Preschool’s Brickell location at 1221 Brickell Suite R 18, and where can we park?

We are located behind the 1221 Brickell building, off of 13th Street. Our facility is conveniently attached to the parking garage 1221 Brickell. You will enter the parking garage from 13th Street and drive to Level 2 where we have reserved parking for parents dropping off and picking up their children. It is just a few feet away from the parent’s entrance, which is secure and only opens with your assigned password. You may park in these spaces for up to 15 minutes, at no cost. Simply have your parking ticket validated at the front desk.

The school is closed in observance of which holidays?

Tiniciti Preschool observes and closes for Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (and the day after), Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day

When can I pick up my child?

Our students are enrolled in our program on a full-time basis, as there are important components to our academic program that take place in the afternoons as well as in the mornings. After-care begins at 3pm. Any time between 3pm and 6pm is ideal for picking up your child/children.

Are you licensed?

Tiniciti Preschools are licensed by the Department of Children & Families and are regularly monitored. This licensing requires preschool programs to adhere to state standards, ensuring the highest quality of education and curriculum, proper health and safety procedures and cleanliness.

Do you run on a 12-month or 10-month calendar, and do I need to pay tuition for the entire year?

Tiniciti Preschools offer a twelve-month program with summer camp included. Parents are responsible for tuition payments on a monthly basis throughout the school year. Parents who withdraw a child or children for an extended period of time (e.g. vacation) are still required to pay for those months. All deposits, fees and tuition are non-refundable.

How often do you clean the classrooms?

To decrease the spread of illnesses and germs, general housekeeping chores are part of the teachers’ daily routine, and toys are sanitized often. A professional cleaning crew also takes care of cleaning, vacuuming and mopping on a nightly basis. In addition, the cleaning crew also cleans rugs/carpets and waxes the floors as needed.

How often do the children go on field trips?

Field trips can enhance the curriculum and children’s learning experiences. The teachers will arrange several field trips throughout the year, guided by the appropriateness for the age, weather conditions and interests.

Do you pick up from area schools?

We have not started a pick-up service yet. We will advise our families and followers should things change in the near future.

Children’s Safety

My child has allergies. How can I make sure you will take care of it?

Please note it on the “Child Enrollment Form” that you are given during the time of enrollment. If anything changes, please ensure that you advise the office immediately and update information on your enrollment form. It is very important that our staff has all of our student’s current health information so that we can provide them with the best possible care.

How do you check the person picking up my child?

Tinicti follows strict guidelines for your child/children’s safety. When you first fill out the “Enrollment Form”, you as the custodial parent(s) or legal guardian will be listing the people that are authorized to pick your child/children up. If there are any changes, you will need to update your Enrollment Form at the office asap. At the time that one of the designated people comes to pick your child/children up, we will ask them for their picture ID to sign the child out.

Can outsiders walk into the facility?

Not at all. A staff member will personally open the door after making sure that the visitor has a legitimate reason to visit. Our rear entrance adjacent to the parking lot can only be opened by parents and staff using their own school programmed key.

Tuition and Fees

What are your rates?

Please schedule a tour at one of our facilities. During the tour, you will receive a list of tuition fees and classroom schedules.

How can we pay the monthly tuition? Can we set up an automatic payment?

Tuition is due on the first of the month. Afterwards, families will be liable for late fees. We do offer an automatic payment program for those parents who are interested, or payments may also be made via check.

Children’s Education

Will my child be ready for Kindergarten?

Yes, very much so. Our approach to early childhood education prepares our students for Kindergarten success by offering an academic program that facilitates the development of several important skills such as: collaboration, problem solving, logical thinking, artistic expression, literacy and reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and so much more!

What curriculum do you follow?

Tiniciti Preschools offer two curriculums designed to complement our daily academic goals- one for our Pre-K 1 and Pre-K 2 students, and one for our Pre-K 3 through Kindergarten students. These curriculums primarily focus on the essentials, such as: a daily letter, number, color, shape, project work, and the occasional cooking activity. In addition, these new curriculums will be enriched by the supplementation of two early childhood programs named ABC Mouse & BrainPOP, along with the implementation of Kumon workbooks. These workbooks introduce children from 2 years of age and up to early learning, fine-motor control, verbal and math skills, while also incorporating literacy, science, and social studies. We’re very excited to pair these academics with our extra-curricular activities, which include: Yoga, Tiny Tumblers (for the little ones), Music, Physical Education, and Dance, and are offered to students at no extra cost!

Do you have VPK?

Tiniciti is not a VPK provider, however, should you have a VPK voucher, we will honor it and provide you with a discount.

Will my child move to an older class during the year?

In general, we do not move children from one class to the next until the end of the school year. Once the summer begins, they will be moved to their next class so as to have a greater opportunity to bond with their new teachers and form friendships with their new classmates.

Food and Nutrition

Do you provide meals and snacks?

Tiniciti provides a healthy and well-balanced, homemade lunch, and healthy snacks are provided twice a day. An updated menu is emailed to parents each month and can be seen in the classrooms as well.

Can I send the food my child likes?

We realize that due to religious or dietary reasons, our menu, as healthy it is, may not be right for your child. In that case, please bring your own food every day, but we do ask that it be a healthy meal. Fast food is discouraged and items such as: chocolate, candy, gum, and all kinds of nuts– are prohibited!

Classroom

Do the children nap? What about the older children?

All of our students from our youngest infants class through Pre-K 4, take a daily nap. Sleep is a major requirement for good health, and for young kids to get enough of it, some daytime sleep is usually needed. Crucial physical and mental development occurs in early childhood, and naps provide much-needed downtime for growth and rejuvenation. Naps also help keep kids from becoming overtired, which not only takes a toll on their moods but may also make it harder for them to fall asleep at night.

Kindergarten students no longer require a nap and are at an age in which they can endure the full school day of activities.

My child is not potty trained. Is that a problem?

We understand that children train at their own pace. Our highly trained teachers are skilled in the area of potty training, therefore it is not a problem. Just let us know when you first enroll and we will advise your child’s teachers.

My child has special needs. Can I enroll?

Tiniciti is an inclusive child care center whose highly trained teachers and staff would love to work with children from all walks of life. The reality is that special education instructors are needed to help students with disabilities as well as other needs that require a variety of accommodations. General education teachers such as ours are not trained to work with students with special needs. In addition, we are unable to maintain the staff-to-child ratio required by special needs facilities so that they may receive their hands-on care and one-on-one attention.

What do the children do during extended care hours?

The majority of the learning and daily lessons take place from 9am-3pm. After 3pm, our after-care program begins. The children engage in group activities such as arts and crafts, sing-alongs, or individual activities such as reading, computers, games, puzzles or music.

Admissions and Starting School

When can my child start? How old do they need to be?

Your child may start as soon as you’re ready to enroll them. We accept children from 6 weeks to 5 years old.

What is the application process for new students?

Families interested in considering Tiniciti for their children’s education should contact the director. The admissions process is as follows:
1. Contact the school to schedule an initial visit and request an information packet.
2. Complete and submit an application.
3. After we receive your child’s application, we will work with you to schedule a classroom visit for him or her.

We’ve been offered a spot for our child for the upcoming school year. What do we need to do to secure that?

To hold your child’s space in our school, we require your completed registration forms and enrollment packet, and deposit payment within one week’s notice of admission. All deposits, fees, and tuition are non-refundable.

Staff

What are the staff qualifications?

Lead teachers exceed the basic DCF licensing requirement and necessary qualifications. All have taken formal early childhood education classes, and hold degrees in early childhood education or a related field. Assistant teachers also exceed basic requirements. Most of our assistant teachers have degrees. Others have early childhood education training and/or several years of experience working in an early childhood setting. All teaching teams function as equals; co-teaching and sharing the responsibilities of the classroom are essential components to a constructive curriculum.

What is the hiring process for new teachers? Do you do background checks?

All of our teachers go through an interview process with the director. We check references and perform thorough background checks for all of our staff, including substitute teachers. The clearance covers all 3 levels – local, state and national.

My child has special needs. Can I enroll?

Do you have ongoing trainings for the staff?

We believe that it is important for our teaching staff to be dedicated learners themselves. We provide numerous opportunities for continuing education and professional development throughout the year. Our teachers participate in trainings, conferences, workshops and CPR and First Aid certification courses.