Description: Welcome to Potomac Early Learning Center. Our goal is to provide a safe, secure environment for your child that fosters physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. Parents, as a child’s first and most important teachers, are a crucial part of our program. We hope to develop a partnership between home and school which benefits the development and growth of each child. Potomac Early Learning Center is located in the heart of downtown La Plata. It is convenient to the district court and government buildings surrounding it, and is easily accessible from Routes 6 and 301. Although located downtown, our children enjoy a huge, entirely fenced, half-acre playground with green grass, a huge shade tree, slides, swings, and picnic tables. Our hours are 6:30 am through 6:00 pm, Monday thru Friday, with minimal closings throughout the year. Our ample parking lot is convenient for drop-offs and pick-ups. Our on-site notary makes the introductory paperwork a breeze for busy working parents. We accept VISA and MasterCard debit and credit cards for easy tuition payments as well as traditional payments by check, money order or cash. Detailed year-end statements will be provided for your tax preparation needs. For the convenience of busy, working families, Potomac Early Learning Center provides all meals and snacks with the price of tuition—breakfast, lunch, and two snacks each day. And parents can rest assured their children are getting their daily nutritional requirements in the form of healthy, high-quality, USDA-approved meals and snacks. Our Preschool Program Our preschool program prepares children socially and academically, as well as, supports and encourages the development of independence, responsibility, and confidence, all of which are essential for the child’s ongoing success in kindergarten. Our educational program focuses on each child’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development by offering concrete, hands-on activities for the child to explore. The preschool curriculum is designed to actively engage each child in developmentally age appropriate activities exploring the content areas of literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, and technology. Our skilled teachers prepare curriculum that is exciting and challenging, as well as supportive of each child's own learning style. Our preschool room arrangement creates the optimum learning environment. It allows children easy access to educational toys, materials, and books, enabling them to initiate and expand their activities. Each classroom is organized with areas for block play, manipulative toys, artistic creativity, dramatic play, and reading in addition to larger spaces for group activities. Our Employees All employees here at Potomac Early Learning Center are highly skilled individuals who have completed approved training and met experience requirements necessary to be certified by the Maryland Office of Child Care. In addition employees have been carefully screened and selected for their warm and nurturing dispositions and for their demonstrated understanding of child development. We seek employees who value working as a team with both parents and colleagues. Continuing education is an important part of working at Potomac Early Learning Center. Each staff member attends workshops in child development and teaching methods each year. All of our staff members are required to complete an extensive criminal background investigation and medical evaluation prior to hire. All teachers are qualified and have completed infant and child CPR and First Aid.
Where possible, ChildcareCenter provides inspection reports as a service to families. This information is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed. We encourage families to contact the daycare provider directly with any questions or concerns, as the provider may have already addressed some or all issues. Reports can also be verified with your local daycare licensing office.
| Date | Type | Regulations | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-12-21 | Mandatory Review | 13A.16.08.02B | Corrected |
| Findings: The Director is reminded that the infant rooms must have a qualified Teacher at all times. At the time of the inspection the qualified teacher in the House Infant room was on break and the classroom was being supervised by two aides. The qualified teacher did remain on site during her break. For correction please send the licensing specialist an updated staffing pattern that shows how breaks will be covered. | |||
| 2023-12-21 | Mandatory Review | 13A.16.10.04A | Corrected |
| Findings: The Toddler room had an electrical heater, that was off in the room. The staff is reminded that the heater can not be used when children are in care. The kitchen in the House building does not have a barrier stopping children from going into the kitchen where potentially harmful items are accessible to children in care. For correction please submit a photo of the barrier placed. | |||
| 2023-01-13 | Full | 13A.16.03.04C | Corrected |
| Findings: During the unannounced inspection it was noted that MY is missing an emergency form; children CS, AW, and HS are missing doctor information; and child EE is missing emergency contact pick up. Please have parents correct the emergency form and submit a copy for correction. | |||
| 2023-01-13 | Full | 13A.16.03.04D(3) | Corrected |
| Findings: Child EL is missing Part 2 of the health assessment. Please submit a copy of the health assessment for correction. | |||
| 2023-01-13 | Full | 13A.16.03.04H | Corrected |
| Findings: During the unannounced inspection it was noted that children HM, EL, and BA were missing documentation of immunizations. Please provide copies of children's immunizations for corrections. | |||
| 2023-01-13 | Full | 13A.16.05.07A | Corrected |
| Findings: During the unannounced inspection two sinks in the downstairs children's bathroom of the church building did not have hot water due to the hot water being turned down. Provider is reminded that all sinks should have both hot and cold water for hand washing. Provider fixed the hot water on site during the inspection for correction. | |||
| 2023-01-13 | Full | 13A.16.05.12E | Corrected |
| Findings: During the unannounced inspection it was noted that the swings attached to the Pirate ship are missing mulch under them. Please add mulch under the swings for correction submit a picture. | |||
| 2023-01-13 | Full | 13A.16.06.04A(1) | Corrected |
| Findings: During the unannounced inspection it was noted that staff member EW is missing a Medical Report. Please submit a copy of the medical report for correction. | |||
| 2023-01-13 | Full | 13A.16.06.12B(1) | Corrected |
| Findings: During the inspection it was noted that staff person DG is missing 3 clock hours of annual training. Please have DG complete 3 clock hours of approved continued training and submit a copy of the certificate for correction. | |||
| 2023-01-13 | Full | 13A.16.10.04A | Corrected |
| Findings: During the unannounced inspection it was noted that in the bathroom upstairs located in the church building there were cleaning supplies in an unlocked cabinet. It was also noted that in the Potomac House the children's bathroom also had an unlocked closet with cleaning supplies. All cleaning supplies must be kept away from children. Please secure or move the cleaning supplies so children do not have access. Submit a photo for correction. | |||
| 2022-02-07 | Mandatory Review | 13A.16.03.02A | Corrected |
| Findings: One toddler is missing an immunization record. Two other children need documentation of updated immunizations to include the 4th DTAP/HIB. Please have the parents obtain the documentation from the physician and add to the children's files. The director is aware of the children who need immunization documentation and is in the process of obtaining the forms from the families. | |||
| 2022-02-07 | Mandatory Review | 13A.16.03.02E | Corrected |
| Findings: There were 2 infant/toddler records and 1 two year old record missing the lead blood test required at 12 months of age. There were 5 two year old records missing the second lead blood test done after 24 months of age. The director is aware of the children who need the lead blood test and has already sent out a notice to the parents along with the lead form to get completed. | |||
| 2022-02-07 | Mandatory Review | 13A.16.03.05B | Corrected |
| Findings: The staffing patterns posted near the classrooms are dated 2/9/2021 and staffing has changed since that date. Please ensure the most recent staffing patterns are posted and submitted to the licensing specialist. | |||
| 2022-02-07 | Mandatory Review | 13A.16.09.04F | Corrected |
| Findings: There were two infants (age 4 months and 9 months) sleeping strapped into a bouncy seat that was situated inside the crib. No doctor's note was present regarding the infants needing to nap with their head elevated. The bouncy seats must be immediately remove from the cribs. Sleeping shall only occur in the approved cribs without the use of any positioners unless a doctor's note is present for the child. | |||
| 2021-02-17 | Full | ||
| Findings: No Noncompliances Found | |||
If you are a provider and you believe any information is incorrect, please contact us. We will research your concern and make corrections accordingly.
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