Staying in Touch and Staying Involved
E-mail to us
Staff can be contacted by e-mail. Their e-mail addresses are listed on Who to Call for What. There may be times, due to their program responsibilities, when staff cannot read or respond to e-mail on the day it is sent. We encourage you to telephone for urgent matters.
E-mail to you
If you provided us with your e-mail address on your application agreement, that address and any others listed will be automatically added to our e-mail distribution lists. The lists are organized by your child’s program (Infant, Toddler, Preschool, or School-Age) and facility (UPC or HSC). Please update us on any changes to your e-mail addresses. You can send changes to usckids@usc.edu. Please include your name, your child’s name and program, and whether your child attends UPC or HSC. Please note that if your child transitions into a new program, your e-mail addresses will be automatically updated to the appropriate e-mail list. If your child withdraws from USC Child Care Programs, your e-mail addresses will be deleted from the distribution list.
Telephone Calls
You can reach staff in the UPC administrative office by telephone at (213) 743-2446 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Program staff are frequently in the rooms or play yards and unavailable by phone. You can leave voice mail for the program staff at the program telephone number or you can call the administrative office to leave a message. Unless it's an urgent call, the messages will be picked up during the day and your call returned as soon as possible. Urgent messages are delivered by administrative staff.
All telephone calls to the program manager or program staff should be directed to the HSC office at (323) 442-3333. Messages are delivered to the program manager or program staff by administrative staff.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Teachers schedule parent conferences twice each year. Sign-up sheets are posted in the rooms. You may schedule additional conferences with your child's teacher at any time. Teachers use one of two assessment tools to help frame the discussion about your child's development. At UPC, teachers use the Ages and Stages (ASQ) assessment tool, which was developed at Oregon State University and is comprehensive and user-friendly. It addresses both the chronological and developmental ages of each child and allows parents and teachers to work together in promoting positive experiences in all levels of development. At HSC, teachers use the Humanics National Child Assessment Form, which measures development in five arenas: social-emotional, language, cognitive, gross motor, and fine motor. At both campuses, teachers also present and discuss a portfolio of materials such as samples of your child's artwork, photographs and anecdotal notes by the teacher(s). Because parents know the most about their own child's development, you are encouraged to discuss your observations and opinions in the conferences.
Publications
"Connect the Tots" is our weekly newsletter. Separate editions are published for UPC and HSC. Parents are e-mailed a reminder and a web link to the newsletter every Friday. Past editions of the newsletter also are archived on the child care Web site.
“Child Care Life” is published twice a year. This magazine-style publication features articles reflecting on our educational philosophy and addressing broad issues about the center and group child care. “Child Care Life” is also available on Forms and Publications.
Parents at both the UPC and HSC centers are provided with a center Family Directory in order to facilitate relationships among families and children. Inclusion in the directory is optional but encouraged.
Each year USC Child Care conducts a survey to determine how well we are meeting parent needs and expectations. Responses to the survey are used to prioritize our focus for the following year.
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