What Makes Us Different?
The other day, I sat down with a dad during an infant tour. His daughter is due at the end of February, and like many parents, he had already toured several schools in the area. As I always do, I asked if there was anything he wanted to be sure we covered or any specific questions he had. Parents often ask about security or curriculum, but his question was different. He paused, took a deep breath, and said, “What makes you different? Everyone has an app. Everyone feeds the babies. I’ve toured four schools. What makes you different?”
It is a fair question and one that should probably be asked at every tour. A school should be able to clearly explain what makes it unique and why it’s a just-right fit for your family. While we’re proud of many things, from our facility to our approach to learning, what truly sets us apart is Growing People Big and Small and our Teaching Ecosystem.
Growing People Big and Small
It’s not just a motto; it’s our passion. Our teachers are the backbone of our school. They are the faces that greet our parents each morning and the voices our children hear all day.
In an industry that can be known for its turnover, we strive to create a team that is strong and centered. Our teachers complete over a week of training before ever setting foot in a classroom, involving professional development hours and classroom observations across our school. We conduct monthly informal classroom observations to foster a culture of coaching and to ensure our leadership team stays connected to the daily life of the school. After thirty days, we survey our teachers to be sure they feel confident and supported, and we continue formal check-ins every six months. During these meetings, we create individualized growth plans that focus on the skills teachers want to develop and how we can support them. We create spaces for teachers to take ownership within our school, like contributing to our culture or helping train new coworkers.
Our goal is for every team member to feel pride, ownership, and respect and to know their voice matters and their expertise is valued. That’s how we help all our people grow big.
The Teaching Ecosystem
The State of Tennessee requires that all early childhood facilities have a lesson plan that covers the basic domains of learning. But how you implement that plan makes all the difference. From our youngest infants to our Pre-K graduates, our teachers have a collection of tools at their disposal to ensure each child receives intentional, high-quality engagement.
Each day, families receive a photo connected directly to our lesson plan, highlighting the specific learning objectives the activity supported. When the teachers take this photo, they are also assessing the students using the GOLD Assessment system. This allows teachers in real time to document how a student is progressing in each skill. This data is stored in each child’s portfolio, which is connected to our lesson planning system. When our teachers go to work on their lesson plan for the next week, they can see how their students did in different areas and craft a lesson plan that introduces a new skill or bolsters one that needs more support.
These portfolios travel with students as they grow, giving each new teacher a clear understanding of how a child learns and where they may need continued support. Our system even suggests targeted activities, supports differentiation across skill levels, and provides guidance for adapting lessons for dual-language learners.
Real-time assessment combined with intentional planning time allows our teachers to create learning environments that are not only purposeful but truly tailored to each child. It is a crucial component that takes us from “another school with a lesson plan” to “a school with intentional curriculum.”
Different and Proud
Celebree of Franklin Cool Springs is proud of both what we share with other high-quality schools and what makes us different. What truly sets us apart is the care we pour into our teachers so they can, in turn, pour into our children, our curriculum, and our growing school. Being able to tell our visiting families about what makes us different…that’s the best part of showing off our school.
