Frequently Asked Questions
Key Principles of Inquisitive Minds
- Creating an environment specifically for children
- Freedom to move vs unnaturally sitting at a desk for extended periods of time
- Freedom of choice and implementing a system of intrinsic motivation where learning is the reward
- Providing opportunities for self-development, independence, and healthy interdependence
- More guidance vs direct instruction
- Having access to hands-on materials and manipulatives
- Peer learning and group collaboration to learn how to work together
We are a private school that offers before and after-school options. We are not a childcare center or daycare. Our extended hours provide families with a full-day option to provide consistency, support a variety of schedules, and keep siblings within the same program.
Click here to learn more about our philosophy and Pedagogy Trio™ Approach.
We enroll students younger than preschool age to allow families to keep their children together and to support our teachers who are also parents. Priority for Nursery and Early Playschool is given to siblings of currently enrolled students as well as our teachers before offering to new families in the waiting pool.
We offer monthly or annual tuition payment options. Tuition is always due in advance and there is a 3% discount for paying annually. If you need an additional payment option, please reach out to our Admissions Director.
We enroll new students in August and January each year, pending availability, once our current students have been evaluated and transitioned to their next class. As a year-round school, if a space becomes available during the school year or summer, we will reach out to the next family in the waiting pool to schedule an immediate start date.
We do not offer drop-in schedules. We do offer part-time schedules for all classes except for Nursery and Lower Elementary. Half-day preschool is currently offered in Eagle Mountain for ages 3-5 years if they are fully toilet-trained. If you prefer starting out with a half-day schedule to ease into the transition, full tuition will still be due and the half-day pick-up time is 12:00 PM.
As a Utah State private school, we do not qualify to accept state subsidy assistance. As we grow, we hope to offer scholarship options and a sliding tuition scale to support additional families in the future.
We provide breakfast until 8:15 AM and 2-3 snacks throughout the day. Families will bring a packed lunch that we encourage making together with their children as a way to connect and be involved in their child's school day.
The founder of Inquisitive Minds was a former teacher as well as a parent with children in different childcare and school settings over the last 14 years. Because of our founder's experience and passion for advocating for children, parents, and teachers, communication is one of our top priorities.
To ensure you feel supported and connected during your child's early education experience, we use an all-in-one app called Procare where you will receive:
- Direct communication with your child's teachers
- Daily habits: diapers/toilet training, naps, and food updates (Nursery through Playschool)
- An activity feed with photos and learning observations showing what your child is mastering throughout the day (Minimum 1 photo and 2 observations per teacher per day)
- Incident reports and health checks
- All tuition invoices and billing processes
Our teachers are required to log a minimum amount of learning observations and photos daily when they are able. We encourage their eyes to be on the students at all times and focused on teaching rather than on the tablet devices. Substitute teachers will also hinder the number of updates posted.
Inquisitive Minds is a private, non-sectarian school. We are not affiliated with any religious or political group and our curriculum does not include any sort of religious or spiritual teachings.
The term "Primary" in the world of Montessori is a traditional Montessori term used to refer to a classroom of children between the ages of 3-6 years old.
Safety and Security
Professional Development is a mandatory requirement for employment here at Inquisitive Minds.
We require all teaching personnel to hold a degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field, be in school for their degree, or actively obtain their CDA (Child Development Associate).
Lower and Upper Elementary teachers must have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in Education.
Every IQM personnel is required to pass state fingerprinting and background checks through Utah Child Care Licensing as well as hold a current BLS infant/child CPR certification and First Aid.
Additionally, we provide in-house training for all teachers regarding Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio methods, Conscious Discipline, Early Childhood Education, and IQM teaching methods during onboarding as well as continuous training education monthly, quarterly, and annually.
Lower Ratios:
This allows for a less overwhelming environment for both students and teachers and allows teachers to have their focus on a smaller group.
Co-Teachers:
We staff all classrooms with two teachers for our lower ratios. For example, our Playschool class has a 1:7 ratio and the Utah state ratio allows 1:14. This provides more eyes on students and more teaching support.
Monitoring System:
We have cameras throughout our school and classrooms to ensure safety and security at all times. Our system may only be monitored and accessed by our administrative team to ensure privacy for our students.
Exterior Doors:
All exterior doors remain locked during school hours to ensure only those who are background checked are permitted into the building while students are in our care.
Single Entry Outdoor Area:
We have one entry/exit gate to our outdoor play area that is padlocked at all times.
Cleanliness is one of our top priorities here at Inquisitive Minds. One of the best practices in reducing the spread of illnesses is teaching our students effective handwashing measures. We implement handwashing before and after transitions and incorporate handwashing into our curriculum as part of our Practical Life lessons. Additionally, we actively disinfect and sanitize throughout the day.
As a well-child school, we adhere to our Sick Policy to ensure we stop the spread of any potential illnesses as soon as we are aware of them. We require any child experiencing a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or a contagious disease to be kept home until symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of any medication. Return dates are at the discretion of the Director; not your child's doctor. We ask all families to be mindful of the health and well-being of all of our students, teachers, and personnel when sending their children to school each day.
The following link will allow you to see which illnesses are currently active in Utah:
https://intermountainhealthcare.org/health-information/germwatch/
Students:
As a Utah State private school, we are required to obtain immunization or exemption records for all enrolled students before their start date. We accept all vaccine exemptions for students and respect all parents' choices for medical decisions regarding their children. Please provide a copy of their immunization record or an exemption may be obtained by following this link.
Teachers:
We are a school that supports medical choice on all levels and we do not ask for nor require vaccines in order to be employed by Inquisitive Minds. Our employees' medical decisions are their own and we do not permit families to ask our teachers about their vaccination status.
Inquisitive Minds
Admissions: (801) 318-9436
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