Frequently Asked Questions
Key Principles of Inquisitive Minds
- Creating an environment specifically for children
- Freedom to move vs unnaturally sitting at a desk for extended periods of time
- Freedom of choice and implementing a system of intrinsic motivation where learning is the reward
- Providing opportunities for self-development, independence, and healthy interdependence
- More guidance and supporting natural interests vs direct instruction
- Having access to hands-on materials and manipulatives
- Peer learning and group collaboration to learn how to work together
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Are you a childcare center or a private school?
We are a private school that offers before and after-school options. We are not a daycare. Our extended hours provide families with a full-day option to provide consistency, support a variety of schedules, and keep young siblings within the same school. -
What is your philosophy and Montessori approach?
Click here to learn more about our philosophy and Pedagogy Trio™ Approach. -
What ages do you enroll?
We enroll students younger than preschool age to allow families to keep their children together and to support those of our teachers who are also parents. Priority for Nursery School and Early Playschool is given to siblings of currently enrolled students as well as our teachers before being offered to new families in the admissions queue. -
What tuition options do you offer?
We offer monthly or annual tuition payment options. Tuition is always due in advance and there is a 3% discount for paying annually. If you need additional payment options, please reach out to our Admissions Coordinators. -
When can my child start?
As a year-round school, if a space becomes available during the school year or summer, we will reach out to the next family in the admissions queue to schedule the next available start date. -
Do you offer part-time or drop-in?
We do not offer drop-in schedules. We do offer part-time schedules for all classes except for Nursery School and Lower Elementary. Half-day preschool is currently offered in Eagle Mountain for ages 3-5 years if they are fully toilet-trained. If you prefer starting out with a half-day schedule to ease into the transition, full tuition will still be due and the half-day pick-up time is 12:00 PM. -
Do you accept state assistance/DWS subsidy?
Our Eagle Mountain campus will accept state DWS and military assistance in January 2024. As we grow, we hope to offer scholarship options and a sliding tuition scale to support additional families in the future. -
Do you provide meals and snacks?
We provide breakfast until 8:20 AM and 2-3 snacks throughout the day. Families will bring a healthy packed lunch that we encourage making together with their children as a way to connect and be involved in their child’s school day. -
Do you have cameras?
We have cameras throughout our schools and classrooms to ensure safety and security at all times. Our systems may only be monitored and accessed by our administrative team to ensure privacy for our students. -
How do you communicate with parents?
The founder of Inquisitive Minds was a former teacher as well as a parent with children in different childcare and school settings over the last 14 years. Because of our founder’s experience and passion for advocating for children, parents, and teachers, communication is one of our top priorities.To ensure you feel supported and connected during your child’s early education experience, we use an all-in-one app called Brightwheel where you will receive:
- Direct communication with your child’s teachers
- Daily habits: diapers/toileting, naps, and food updates (Nursery School up to Playschool) An activity feed with photos and learning observations showing what your child is mastering throughout the day
- Incident reports and health checks
- All tuition invoices and billing processes
Our teachers update learning observations and photos daily when they are able, typically during nap time and at the end of the day. With safety being our #1 priority, teachers’ eyes must be on the students at all times and focus on teaching rather than on the iPad devices. Since substitute teachers do not know our systems, this will hinder the number of updates posted when we have teachers out sick.
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Do you have any religious affiliations?
Inquisitive Minds is a private, non-sectarian school. We are not affiliated with any religious or political group and our curriculum does not include any sort of religious or spiritual teachings.
Safety and Security
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What are your standards and requirements for teachers?
Professional Development is a mandatory requirement for employment here at Inquisitive Minds.We require all teaching personnel to either be in school for their degree, actively obtain their CDA, or hold a degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field.
Lower Elementary teachers must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Education with their teaching certificate.
Every IQM personnel is required to pass state fingerprinting and background checks through the state of Utah as well as hold a current BLS infant/child CPR certification and First Aid.
Additionally, we provide in-house training for all teachers regarding Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio methods, Conscious Discipline, Early Childhood Education, and IQM teaching methods during onboarding, as well as continuous training education monthly, quarterly, and annually.
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What safety measures do you have in place to keep my child safe?
Lower Ratios:
This allows for a less overwhelming environment for both students and teachers and allows teachers to have their focus on a smaller group.
Co-Teachers:
We staff all classrooms with two teachers even with our lower ratios. For example, our Playschool class has a 1:7 ratio and the Utah state ratio allows 1:14. This provides more eyes on students and more teaching support.
Monitoring System:
We have cameras throughout our school and classrooms to ensure safety and security at all times. Our system may only be monitored and accessed by our administrative team to ensure privacy for our students.
Exterior Doors:
All exterior doors remain locked during school hours to ensure only those who are background checked are permitted into the building while students are in our care.
Single Entry Outdoor Area:
We have one entry/exit gate to our outdoor play area that is padlocked at all times. -
What measures are you taking to reduce the spread of illnesses?
Cleanliness is one of our top priorities here at Inquisitive Minds. One of the best practices in reducing the spread of illnesses is teaching our students effective handwashing measures. We implement handwashing before and after transitions and incorporate handwashing into our curriculum as part of our Practical Life lessons. Additionally, we actively disinfect and sanitize throughout the day using Briotech. -
What is your attendance policy for sick children?
As a well-child school, we adhere to our Sick Policy to ensure we stop the spread of any potential illnesses as soon as we are aware of them. We require any child experiencing a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or a contagious disease to be kept home until symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of any medication. Return dates are at the discretion of the Director; not your child’s doctor. We ask all families to be mindful of the health and well-being of all of our students, teachers, and personnel when sending their children to school each day.The following link will allow you to see which illnesses are currently active in Utah: https://intermountainhealthcare.org/health-information/germwatch/
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What is your immunization policy?
Students:
As a Utah State private school, we are required to obtain immunization or exemption records for all enrolled students before their start date. We accept all vaccine exemptions for students and respect all parents’ choices for medical decisions regarding their children. Please provide a copy of their immunization record or an exemption may be obtained by following this link.Teachers:
We are a school that supports medical choice on all levels and we do not ask for nor require vaccines in order to be employed by Inquisitive Minds. Our employees’ medical decisions are their own and we do not permit families to ask our teachers about their vaccination status.