St. Andrew’s Cottage
Our Mission and Values
The St. Andrew’s Cottage, a year-round early learning program of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, exists to offer a quality learning experience to young children from families in the greater New Orleans area without regard to race, religion, gender, or ethnic origin for admission.
The mission of our larger school community is as follows: The mission of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is to educate and inspire the mind, body, and spirit of each individual child with a sense of excellence and to promote social responsibility in a nurturing environment that values faith, reason, and diversity.
To that end, St. Andrew’s Cottage is designed to nurture the development of all children in attendance. Our Frog Street Curriculum is designed around the latest brain research that focuses on four domains important in our young learners. These domains include cognitive, language, social-emotional, and physical development. Our goal for each participating child is two-fold: to fulfill his/her potential for intellectual, social, and emotional functioning; and to be prepared to succeed in school and in life.
Program Description
Our year round early childhood program serves children 12 months to 3 years of age. The program is open 
Monday – Friday, 7:30 am to 6:00 pm. Nutritious meals and snacks are included in the cost of tuition. Our program is designed to support the total development of young children through high-quality interactions. Through intentionally planned activities and learning center experiences, teachers facilitate the development of cognitive, expressive and receptive communication skills, as well as fine and large motor skills. In full realization that children learn as much from their interactions with each other, social interaction, indoor and outdoor play, and small group experiences are a valued part of our curriculum.
Frog Street Curriculum provides teachers with 52 weeks of planned activities specifically made to help our young learners grow. We also use a storytelling/story acting curriculum for literacy development with our three year olds. Twice a year, teachers meet with parents to discuss the child’s development in communication, gross and fine motor skills, personal-social skills, and problem solving. Together, parents, teachers, and leadership set age-appropriate goals that support the child’s learning with love, compassion, and patience.
I
n the Cottage, we play and our emphasis is on social-emotional development and making learning fun. The classrooms are set up for different kinds of play: blocks, fine motor, dramatic play, and looking at and reading books. These areas develop in complexity, as the children get older. Children spend a lot of time in centers of their choosing during the day: they practice sharing toys and space with other children, negotiating who will play different roles in the dramatic play area, and exploring different materials in the art area. All learning is integrated in our early childhood classes, and children are developing socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively throughout the day and during routines and free play.
Teachers integrate the Project Approach into their curriculum and regular lesson plans. The Project Approach is based on teaching strategies that help teachers to follow the children’s interests and then plan ways to explore with the children. Teaching and learning is an interactive process which helps children to explore and learn while building their curiosity allowing them to question, problem-solve, create and grow as individuals.
Twice a year, teachers meet with parents to discuss the child’s development in communication, gross and fine motor skills, personal-social skills, and problem solving. Together, parents, teachers, and leadership set age-appropriate goals that support the child’s learning with love.
1 year olds
Our 1’s grow so much in their first year at St. Andrew’s! At the beginning of the school year, they learn about what happens here: that they can go to their teachers for comfort and help, that school is a place where they can have fun with friends. The 1’s sing throughout their day, listen to lots of books in small and large groups, and begin to explore how to use different art and fine motor materials.
2 year olds
Our 2’s program builds on the sense of belonging the children already feel. They play with each other more, so dramatic playand block areas are always busy! Teachers begin to use large group/circle time to introduce new concepts or words, and teachers use small group work to use more challenging materials. They also go outside twice a day for about an hour each time. Teachers often take books, blocks, or other toys outside as well, in case some children don’t feel like running around.
3 year olds
Our 3’s classrooms are in the building with our PreK4 and Kindergarten classes, so our 3s feel more a part of “big school.” They are given long periods of center play throughout the day, so that they can really engage in building, pretending, and creating with their friends. More materials are available in centers, because children have learned how to use the materials appropriately and safely. Teachers have time to talk and listen to the 3s for longer periods of large group time, and they continue to explore topics (like animals, space, friendship) for as long as the children are still thinking of questions. They also go outside twice a day for about an hour each time. Frog Street Three’s curriculum is used in our PK3 classes. Three-year-olds are transitioning from parallel play to interactive play, and their language capacity is blossoming. They are becoming much more mobile, and they are learning to show genuine affection and concern for their peers. Frog Street Threes meets the specific needs of three-year-olds in key areas of development: Social Bridge, Literacy Development, Foundational Math. Our 3’s participate in enrichment classes, including art, library, religion, music, Spanish, and PE.
Tuition Rates and Fees
One year old classes: $1,231/month
Two year old classes: $1,231/month
Three year old classes: $1,231/month
$210 Activity Fee
$36 Parents’ Club Dues
Application Process for the Cottage
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is currently accepting applications for students 12 months – 3 years old. For inquires or more information please contact Lisa Witter, Director of Advancement, Enrollment & Financial Aid at lwitter@standrewsepiscopalschool.org or (504) 866-6553.
Steps to apply:
- Visit Our Campus
- Complete Admission Application — online application
- School Visit – A school visit will be scheduled by the Admissions Office if needed.
- Testing is required for PK 3 – Schedule Speech-Language, Hearing and School Readiness Screening
St. Andrew’s requires all students enrolling in our PK3 class to complete a speech-language, hearing, and school readiness screening with:
Offices of Megan Doosey, Lauren Smith, and Maley Haro
(504) 832-5111
Please contact the Offices of Megan Doosey, Lauren Smith, and Maley Haro as soon as possible to schedule the screening during the months of November and December. After the screening, the specialist will meet with you to explain the results and provide written documentation of the evaluation. The appointment should be approximately 1 hour and the cost is $75 (paid directly to Megan Doosey, Lauren Smith, or Maley Haro).
Admission notification letters mailed beginning in December.
For admissions information please contact:
Lisa Witter
Director of Enrollment Management & Financial Aid
lwitter@standrewsepiscopalschool.org
(504) 866-6553
Amanda Whitney
Director of Cottage
(504) 861-3743
awhitney@stanrewsepiscopalschool.org
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School does not discriminate against any person in admission, employment, or otherwise because of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or age in violation of existing state or federal law or regulations.