Final Parents Survey, Summer 2009

Final Parent Survey, Summer 2009 Session The Core Program Teachers conducted a Final Parent Survey following the end of the Summer 2009 Session. The teachers contacted fifty parents over the phone and asked them to attend focus group discussions in their respective locations. Twenty-nine parents attended focus groups in five locations.

• 100% of parents reported that their child has positively developed socially and psychologically as a result of TYO.
• 97% of parents reported that their child is applying the activities s/he learned at TYO in the home.
• 93% of parents reported that there is progress in their child’s interactions with peers.
• 90% of parents reported that their child is more cooperative.
• 90% of parents reported that their child is more responsible.
• 100% of parents reported improvement in communicating with others.

The summer session represented the last two months of implementation of a four-month intensive training with MaDad on the Holistic Integrated Approach to early childhood education.  Thanks to the new skills gained from working with MaDad, TYO teachers are imparting coping skills and outlets for self-exploration and expression, which transcend our classrooms and are implementable at home. In addition, our classrooms include a large emphasis on free play and imagination through the child-led creation of “imagination stations,” including a kitchen, doctor’s office, storytelling corner, pharmacy, falafel stand and a bank. These stations are made from 100% recycled and found materials, which facilitates recreating the same type of play at home. The Core Program teachers use the children’s creations as a point of departure to talk about health and safety, nutrition, problem solving, recycling, physical fitness, communication and tolerance.

Comments from Parents

• My son likes to help me prepare salads in the kitchen.  He told me he learned at TYO that salads are very healthy.
• My son taught his siblings how to make homemade flowers.
• Since coming to TYO, my daughter likes to draw what is on her mind.
• My son used the art skills he learned at TYO to make wedding party invitations.
• My daughter is using the skills she learned at TYO at home. She created her own dolls from old cloths she collected from our house.

To read more visit the TYO hompage and view our Results page which features this report in full and our impact over the last year.