FAQ’s

The Center for Creative Education is a nonprofit corporation and is the “parent” company which offers many different programs. ONE of those program offerings is The Foundations School. To read about other programs offered, visit the website at www.cceflorida.org.

TFS is a private school (#8208) registered with the Florida Department of Education and operates legally through the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice. TFS is subject to and compliant in all legislation pertaining to private schools in Florida.

This school year runs from August 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027. The school year is 207 days NOT the usual 180 days.

Several reasons. The decrease in summer break increases the student’s likelihood of staying on grade level. A longer year increases the student’s opportunity to catch up if they are behind academically. Most families rely on consistent, affordable, high-quality child- care which can be cost-prohibitive for most families. This schedule also aligns more readily with the schedule of parents who work or cannot readily adjust their schedule.

The school day at TFS is 8:00am-3:00pm except Wednesdays. EVERY Wednesday is early dismissal at 2:00pm.

No. However, there is a dress code.

TFS will publish report cards to the Gradelink Parent Portal three times per year. Parents can also monitor their child’s grades, assignments, behavior, and attendance daily through the Parent Portal. We host Student-led conferences three times per year. Of course, our faculty and staff will be in touch with you as needed and parents are expected to maintain communication with faculty and staff.

The maximum number of students in every class is 15 students. Each class currently has a teacher and an assistant teacher.

We are certainly willing to guide you and answer any questions we can. Please, realize however, that we do not manage Step Up Accounts. Families MUST work with Step Up for Students when there is an issue with this scholarship and your account with them.

TFS takes attendance very seriously and recognizes the role it plays in helping a student become their best self. That is why we seek to partner with parents who also take attendance very seriously. Our full policy can be found using this link. http://cceflorida.org/the-foundations-school/

A state teaching certificate or statement of eligibility is required of all teachers in our school. Of course, experience varies, but our teachers have 11 years of experience on average. All have their bachelor’s degree and many of them have their master’s degree. All staff and CCE and TFS are cleared through Florida Department of Law Enforcement with a Level II Background check and all employees are processed through the Department of Homeland Security and deemed eligible for employment in the United States.

We fully recognize the five pillars of early literacy described in the body of research contained in the National Reading Panel’s Report often referred to as
“The Science of Reading”. These pillars, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension are evident in all our curricula, instructional methodologies, and assessments.

Absolutely. While there is some degree of flexibility as a private school, all our curricula, instructional units, and individual lessons are aligned with Florida state standards and clear learning goals. Families can feel confident that all content at our school is based on standards established by the State of Florida.

Technically, we are not but the arts and creativity receive a very high priority at TFS. Our school does not have separate art, theater, dance, and music classes. Better yet, our school embeds these art forms into the regular classroom all year long through a process called Arts Integration. These Arts Integration units are co-planned and co-taught with the teacher and a teaching artist. Arts Integration provides students with multiple access points for diverse learning capabilities. Arts integration makes the academic content more engaging and boosts retention of the information.

Yes! CCE runs another program called Blue Planet Global Collaborations. This program works with our school’s faculty and staff to establish learning exchanges between our 2nd- 5th grade students and students in other countries which are built on the National Core Art Standards. Some of those countries include Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Malawi, Spain, Morrocco, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Nigeria.

Absolutely. Our small class size, low student-to-teacher ratio, and variety of curricula help our teachers provide students the support THEY need. This is referred to as
“differentiated learning.” Students have varying learning needs and styles, and our teachers have the flexibility and expertise to utilize the most appropriate curriculum based on the students’ needs and their diagnostic test results. Our method of teaching called Arts Integration is also an additional support.

Absolutely. TFS uses a combination of resources from the Responsive Classroom approach, CASEL (The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning), and

various best practices for social cognition development to create a caring, meaningful social curriculum. TFS has adopted a school-wide, SEL curriculum called PATHS.
We begin each day with a Morning Meeting in every classroom, to connect with students on a personal level, teach specific social skills, and establish a positive tone for the day.
Throughout the school day various aspects of social emotional learning, such as collaboration, development of relationship skills, and self-awareness, are integrated in all activities.

We believe that testing is critical in providing students the instruction they need. All students (K-5) are tested in Math and Reading three times a year using i-Ready. Students in grade 3-5 take the Iowa test in Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies every June.