SDSU Laboratory Preschool       SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory       SDSU OST Program

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I enroll my child in the preschool?

At the beginning of April, the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education Preschool enrollment process is open to the public.  Enrollment space is given to interested families on a first come, first served basis.  Typically open enrollment is advertised in the Brookings Register and the area-wide Shopper.  Enrollment may be achieved through (1) completing an online enrollment form located on the enrollment page, (2) calling Kay Cutler, Director, at 688-6797 and providing verbal enrollment information, or (3) completing an enrollment form that is located on the coordinator's office door, Pugsley Center Room 131 and returning it to the director via mail with the deposit included.  After submitting an online form, the director will contact you to confirm enrollment, discuss enrollment details, and request the submission of the enrollment deposit.

Do I need to enroll my child each semester?

No, each spring the enrollment process is completed for the following academic year.  If open slots become available during the year, the spots are offered to a family through the end of April.  In addition, the family would have the option of participating in the next year's enrollment process and continuing in the program.

How do I enroll my child in the kindergarten?

The enrollment for the SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory is a lottery process conducted by the Brookings School District.  It is considered a parent's choice alternative placement for the Brookings School District.  Given it is considered a parent's choice alternative placement, the SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory does not have school bus service for arrival and departure.  Transportation is the responsibility of the families.

Families who are interested in enrolling their child is the SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory should indicate this choice during Kindergarten Round Up in the spring of the year.  All families whose children are kindergarten eligible should participate in the Kindergarten Round Up which includes kindergarten screening and the presentation of information regarding kindergarten.  If you are interested in this process, please call the Brookings School District at (605) 696-4700 for more information.

Is there a waiting list maintained for each laboratory?

Currently, there is a waiting list maintained for the SDSU Laboratory Preschool.  If you would like your child to be placed on the waiting list for the following academic year, please contact Kay Cutler, Director of the SDSU Laboratory Preschool, at 688-6797.

Currently, there is not a waiting list for the SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory.  Because all interested families may request the SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory as their first choice of programming during the spring Kindergarten Round Up, there is a possibility of a waiting list each year.  Twenty-two children are chosen randomly from the pool of interested families.  The rest of the families are then placed on the annual waiting list.  Please call the Brookings School District at (605) 696-4700 for more information about the annual waiting list.

What is the tuition?

Tuition for the SDSU Laboratory Preschool is due each semester at the open house; Fall Semester (Sept. to Dec.) and Spring Semester (Jan. to April). Arrangements may be made to pay tuition on a monthly basis if needed.  Each request is considered individually by the director of the program.  The Toddler Program is $225 per semester.  The Preschool Program is $325 per semester.

Because the SDSU Laboratory Kindergarten Program is a collaborative effort with the Brookings School District, there is no tuition for the program.

Tuition for the SDSU Out of School Time Program is due bi-weekly.  Because there are many choices for OST available, please consult the table on the Tuition page.

May my child attend without having his/her immunization forms and health check on file?

Typically immunization forms and physical health checks need to be on file when your child begins the program.  Case by case exceptions may be made.  Please contact the coordinator of the preschool or the kindergarten teacher/OST teacher to discuss your particular situation.

What do children do each day?

Within the SDSU Laboratory Preschool, children spend time in free-choice play, inquiry-investigation, small groups, family-style snack, outside activities, and large group activities.

Within the SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory, children spend time discovering math, science, and reading within small group and large group activities, experience physical education with students in the Physical Education Teacher Education Program (PETE), family-style snack and lunch, outside activities, large group activities, and free-choice play.

Within the OST Program, children spend time in relaxation activities, family-style snack, free-choice activities, and small group studies.  Often the children go on campus field trips, weather permitting.

How many teachers are in each classroom?  Who are they?

Within the SDSU Laboratory Preschool, each classroom has a Mentor Teacher, two to three student teachers, and three to four assistant teachers.  The Mentor Teacher is an ECE faculty member or an ECE graduate student who is responsible for teacher training and children's experiences within the lab setting.  The student teachers are ECE majors usually in their junior or senior year and are in their Professional Semester III in the Teacher Education Program.  The assistant teachers are usually ECE majors or FCSed majors in their sophomore year.

Within the SDSU Kindergarten Laboratory, there are two main teachers who co-teach.  The Kindergarten teacher is a full time teacher and the assistant teacher is present part of the time.  In addition, ECE majors who are completing a kindergarten practicum as part of the Kindergarten Endorsement will be present within the classroom for 45 hours.

Do the laboratory teachers use time out?  What types of guidance do the teachers use?

Time out is not a practice used in the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education.  Guidance is used in the classroom to help the child understand limits in the class, and to help the child learn how to set his/her own inner self-controls.  Appropriate discipline/guidance allows children to respect themselves and others and to cultivate respect for each other and the environment within a classroom setting.   Guidance begins even before the children arrive through thoughtful planning of appropriate environments and placement of materials within the classroom to prevent potential problems.  We believe that positive reinforcement, encouragement, offering choices, redirection, limiting setting, and joint problem solving are the most effective tools of discipline. 

Do the children have to go outside if it is cold out?

The Center's rule of thumb is that children will go outside if the temperature (including wind chill) is above 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  Teacher's reserve judgment when the temperature is around the cut off point.  Classes will use alternative forms of large motor play on days when it is too cold to go outside.  Children need to fully participate in the school day.  If a child is not well enough to go outside or engage in large motor play, alternative plans other than attending school should be made.

May I bring a snack from home to share with the class?

Families are encouraged to share family traditions, including traditional food with others in the class.  The guideline that the Center follows is that snacks are low in sugar, high is fiber, and fresh.  Please contact your child's teacher a couple days in advance so that arrangements may be made with the Center's cook, Deb Schaefer.

Why is free play included in the schedule rather than having more structured learning times?

Children make sense of their world through exploration and using objects within relation to each other.  Free play allows for children to actively choose how to make sense of their world.  Free play also allows for teachers to spend time 1 on 1 with children and to document children's explorations.  Small group learning also occurs during the day because relationships play a large part in early learning.  A combination of more structured time and less structured time is used every day with teachers attending to cues children provide.

If the Brookings School District closes due to weather, will the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education also close?

The school follows the University Holiday Schedule and Brookings School District  Weather closing.  Local radio stations (KBRK) will broadcast weather related closing.  We strongly encourage parents to use their own judgment when the weather is questionable for young children.  If you consider the weather unsafe, please keep your child(ren) home and call us to inform us of your decision.