Lakewood Catholic Academy

Additional Programs at L.C.A.

14808 Lake Ave.
Lakewood, OH 44107
216-521-0559

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Lakewood Catholic Academy is a joint ministry of its three founding parishes:

St. Clement
founded 1922

St. James
founded 1908

St. Luke
founded 1922

In addition to its excellent elementary education program, Lakewood Catholic Academy offers a comprehensive group of additional childcare options, and special program reaching from infancy to adulthood. Contact the school for more information on any of these programs.

Holy Family Learning Center | Preschool Program
Before & Aftercare Programs | The St. James Child Care Program
The Centering Space

The Holy Family Learning Center

Housed on the Lakewood Catholic Academy campus, the Holy Family Learning Center is a loving community where children aged six weeks to five years receive quality care centered on the values of the Holy Family.

We are known as an educational learning center with “wrap around” care from 7 am to 6 pm. By “wrap around” care, we mean the learning component is in the morning but working parents need assistance for their children in the early morning hours and in the afternoon hours, therefore, our daycare component addresses this issue.

Holy Family Learning Center responds to the daily needs of families, by creating a community of love and hope based on quality care. Our mission is to be a home away from home.

We are licensed for infants as young as 6 weeks to 18 months; Toddlers: 18 months to 3 years; Preschool: 3-4 years and Pre-K: 4-5 years.

We have a staff of 34 with 2 evening maintenance workers. We have 8 head teachers and these teachers work with assistant teachers to implement our program.

We offer a food program consisting of breakfast, lunch and snack from Sidekicks Kiddie Katering Company.

We are grateful to be apart of this new campus. It is exciting to be back with many of our alumni who are now students at Lakewood Catholic Academy.

Mission Statement:

Holy Family Learning Center accepts the challenge to respond to the daily needs of families by creating a community of love and hope based on quality care for children. We promote a non-violent Learning Center and we state that we are a FAMILY -- a home away from home.

Value Statements (Philosophy):

We believe that parents are the primary caregivers and educators of their children. Therefore:

We support families and we assist parents in the care and education of their children.

We believe that play is an agent for creative learning.

We believe that all children develop at their own developmental learning rate.

We believe in a family spirit that emphasizes the value and dignity of each person.

We believe in working closely with other related agencies as well as other religions and civic organizations in order to meet the needs of the people we serve according to the ideals of justice and love.

We believe in equal opportunities and we promote an atmosphere of non-violence.

Ministry (Goals)

Holy Family Learning Center provides a family centered environment.

Holy Family Learning Center promotes the concept of holistic developmental design of age-appropriate materials and activities for each infant, toddler and preschooler based on physical, social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual needs.

Dedicated staff will assist each child to grow in creativity, choice, discovery, problem solving and exploration.

In order to assist parents, Holy Family Learning Center will provide opportunities to meet and work with other parents and caregivers who have as their common concern the interest and needs of young children.

Laws and Licensing:

Holy Family Learning Center is licensed by the Ohio State Department of Education the Division of Early Learning and School Readiness. It is a non-profit, equal opportunity, non-denominational learning center. We follow the Preschool Licensing Rules Chapter 3301-37, Ohio Administrative Code.

Contact The Holy Family Learning Center

By phone: 216.521.HFLC (4352), Sister Kathleen - Director

Visit our website: www.lakewoodcatholicacademy.com/holyfamily.

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The Preschool Program

Click here to download a presentation on the LCA preschool program.

Click here to download a PDF file with tuition, choices, and other information about the preschool program.

The LCA Preschool Program is an excellent opportunity for children ages 3-5 to develop the skills necessary to be life long learners. We provide an atmosphere that children are able to learn social and communication skills. We teach an age appropriate curriculum which includes religion, math, language arts, social studies, and science. Our program is distinguished by the Reggio Emilia approach to early child education.

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education. It was started by the parents of the villages around Reggio Emilia in Italy after World War II. The city of Reggio Emilia in Italy is recognized worldwide for its innovative approach to education. Its signature educational philosophy has become known as the Reggio Emilia Approach.

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon the following set of principles: Children are capable, strong, and able to problem-solve, and must have some control over the direction of their learning. Children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing, and hearing. Children have a relationship with other children and with material items in the world that children must be allowed to explore. And children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves.

The Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children puts the natural development of children as well as the close relationships that they share with their environment at the center of its philosophy. Early childhood programs that have successfully adapted to this educational philosophy share that they are attracted to Reggio because of the way it views and respects the child. They believe that the central reason that a child must have control over his or her day-to-day activity is that learning must make sense from the child's point of view.

Parents are a vital component to the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Parents are viewed as partners, collaborators and advocates for their children. Teachers respect parents as each child's first teacher and involve parents in every aspect of the curriculum. It is not uncommon to see parents volunteering within Reggio Emilia classrooms throughout the school.

This philosophy does not end when the child leaves the classroom. Most parents who choose to send their children to a Reggio Emilia program incorporate many of the principles within their parenting and home life. Even with this bridge between school and home, many people wonder what happens to Reggio children when they make the transition from this style of education to an American grade school. The answer is that there is some adjustment that must take place. In most school environments, intellectual curiosity is rewarded, so students continue to reap the benefits of Reggio after they've left the program.

Children also have the opportunity for lots of art, and physical education. Our children will receive specials at LCA such as music, physical education, art, and library. We feel that this helps children to become familiar with a school environment. We participate in many LCA events such as the Christmas program.

We encourage children to use excellent manners, social and communications skills each day. We will begin each day with circle time, which is an opportunity to discuss our theme of the week, and the academic lessons for the day. We enjoy a snack, which will include practice of prayer and table manners. The second half of our session we work in small groups around the classroom, free play at which time the children may choose an independent or group activity, and finally we end with a review of our day and story time.

Our four-year-old classroom meets Monday-Friday mornings, or Tuesday-Thursday in the afternoon. Our three-year-old classroom meets Tuesday-Thursday with a morning or afternoon option. We do not offer before or after care for the preschool children.

For more information, call 216-521-0559.

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Before- and After-Care Programs

Director:                     Cathy Preto
Assistant Director:     Tracy Patton
Site Director:              Eileen McDonnell

Faculty: Mary Davis, Sarah Kaneen, Rachael Partridge, Rochelle Pohorence, Leslie Racy

Many parents today need care for their children before and after school, and Lakewood Catholic Academy is pleased to have these services offered through the St. James Child Care Center. The Center has operated its own distinguished full-day child care program at St. James Parish, one of LCA's founding parishes, for more than ten years, and when LCA was launched in 2005 established the before and aftercare program here.

Hours of operation for the Before and After-Care programs are from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. before school, and from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. after school, every day that school is in session. Full-day care is available on days when there is no school, and the program also operates during summer vacation for both half- and full-day sessions.

The St. James program offers a success-oriented curriculum that includes a wide variety of activities and choices offered under a set routine. Personal discipline, social development and emotional well-being, as well as recreational, health and safety skills are emphasized through the following activities:

Setting and meeting daily responsibilities, such as cleaning up

Quiet time to work on homework individually or with adult or peer help as needed

Daily open-ended art projects that are adapted to each age group

Daily opportunities for reading

Opportunities to participate in small group games, which provide basic skills such as sharing, taking turns, and respecting others

Group and individual play in the gym or on the school's spacious and beautiful grounds

Hands-on science activities using everyday products

Opportunities for daily imaginative play

Music & dance activities

Math activities that include matching, ordering, and sorting games, and the opportunity to apply arithmetic problems in everyday situations

Daily reinforcement of health, hygiene and classroom safety

Research has shown that children who attend high quality programs have better peer relations, emotional adjustment, skills, grades and conduct in school compared to those who are not in after care programs. St. James Child Care Center School-age Program completes the educational setting for Lakewood Catholic Academy and is an integral part of our educational program. The program is open to all children in grades kindergarten through eight.

Tuition & Registration Information

Parents interested in participating in the program for 2008-09 school year should complete a registration form and return it, along with a non-refundable deposit of $50 per family, to the Main Office. The deposit will be applied to the supply fee charged in October. The form and payment are needed to hold your child's spot for the following school year, and is due by February 29, 2009. Spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click here to download a registration form.

There is a registration fee of $25 per child, due when the child actually enters the program, and a supply fee, charged in October each year, that is calculated by multiplying the number of days in attendance each week by $15. Fees are as follows:

Before-School Care: $3.00 per day
After-School Care (full-time): $13.00 per day
After-School Care (part-time): $14.00 per day
Before- and After-Care (full-time): $15.00 per day
Before- and After-Care (part-time): $16.00 per day
Summer/Vacation Days (full-day):  $33.00 per day
Summer half-day, with lunch: $18.00 per day

Contacting the Before- and After-Care Program:

Phone: 216.521.4125
Email: stjamesccc@aol.com

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The St. James Child Care Program

St. James Child Care Center is a private, non-profit licensed child care center owned and operated by St. James Church. Our Center's early childhood education program represents St. James Church's progressive commitment to the community of affordable child care services. The Center will provide children with a foundation for learning and with an environment that meets the developmental needs of young children. Parents who live or work in the West Shore area are welcome to enroll their children in the program.

St. James Child Care Center was established in 1994 to provide high quality early care education for children between the ages of 8 weeks to 12 years. Our Center is licensed through the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services and the school age program at Lakewood Catholic Academy will be licensed by the Ohio Department of Education. We respect the individuality of each child and help them to respect that in others. Our teaching staff is well trained in all aspects of child development. They provide an environment of creative learning and nurturing from infancy through to the school age years.

The goals of St. James Child Care are to:

Recognize and value each child as an individual.

Enable and empower each child to develop a strong sense of self.

Provide holistic curriculum which helps to each child develop physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually.

Offer each family personalized support and assistance.

The St. James Child Care Center is located at:

17400 Northwood Avenue
Lakewood , Ohio 44107
Phone: 216-521-4125

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     A ministry of prayer, listening and direction

A Collaborative Ministry of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine

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MISSION STATEMENT

We strive to discern the action of the Spirit in the lives of persons seeking a more profound response to God’s call in their lives.

We do this by creating community characterized by:

A prayerful environment

An atmosphere of attentive listening to experiences and aspirations

Support through mentoring and spiritual direction

Creative energy for the unfolding of the future of religious life

Opportunities to discern life choices and ministry options

Resources, both human and material

In our fast paced society there is a great need for persons to find a place of stillness to attend to the inner promptings of the Spirit. Located in a century home on the shores of Lake Erie, designed for quiet and reflection, Centering Space provides for individuals and small groups a place to gather in an environment conducive to prayerful listening.

People who hunger for an awareness of God’s everyday presence or who seek God’s direction in a specific event or life choice as well as those who are looking for the prayerful support of community; are all invited to experience Centering Space.

We welcome you to share this space, expecting to learn from the diversity of backgrounds, interests, gifts and desires that each will bring.

Contact Centering Space at centeringspace@srsofcharity.org.

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