hilltop child development centerhilltop.ku.edu/sites/hilltop.ku.edu/files/docs/2017 annual...

HILLTOP CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER 2017 Annual Report

Hilltop is an inclusive community where children learn from passionate professionals in a nurturing and academically rich environment.

To Hilltop Families and Friends:

This past year has seen many great things

happen inside and outside our building.

We entered this year focusing on the

implementation of the newly developed

strategic plan. Through these goals and

initiatives, we have been able to expand on Hilltop’s ability

to serve our children and families. Whether that be

creating opportunities for families to engage in Hilltop

activities or creating more learning opportunities for our

staff, this year has seen Hilltop grow in our ability to

educate and communicate with our children and families.

In addition to our strategic initiatives occurring within the

facility, we have seen our physical structures also change at

Hilltop. In partnership with the KU Central District Project,

Hilltop has improved the outdoor learning environments.

We welcomed our new garden spaces and the expanded

toddler playground on the North side of the facility.

This past year has also seen Hilltop create a sound and

sustainable financial plan for years to come. There are

financial reserves in place to protect our operations as well

as the physical structure in case of an emergency. Hilltop

has created a teacher compensation package that can

recruit and retain the most highly qualified professionals in

the field.

These are just a few of the accomplishments from this past

year, and I want to thank you all for your support.

Jeremy Fite Executive Director

2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Noel Rasor President

Sara Vancil President-elect

Mindie Paget Secretary

Karen Cross Past President

Jennifer Wamelink KU Liaison

Steve Allton Parent Member

Stephani Boyd Parent Member

Shanda Hayden Public Member

Debbie Johanning Parent Member

Lisa Kress Parent Member

Tim Mock Public Member

Renee Olson Parent Member

Molly Paugh Public Member

Jana Tuttle Public Member

Steve Wallace Parent Member

Sherri Whightsil Parent Member

Marc White Parent Member

Katrina Yoakum KU Comptroller’s Office Non-voting member

Message from the

Director

http://hilltop.ku.edu/


Hilltop Staff 2017-2018 Administrative Staff

Jeremy Fite Courtney Hultgren Executive Director Asst. Director/Operations Mgr. Since 2014 Since 2013

Megan Smith Adam Brown Curriculum Director Finance Director Since 2012 Since 2013

Chris Hotvedt Rob Wood Adm. Assistant Kitchen Manager Since 2008 Since 2011

__________________________________________________________________ Teaching Staff (hire date) Dalene Andrews (2014) Aiya Johnson (2017) Carmean Volp (2015) Natalie Bennet (2013) Katie Johnson (2016) Heather Washington (2016) Lacey Bolen (2017) Becca Karber (2017) Annie Weeth (1999) Kelsey Brooksbank (2017) Lyda Kendrick (2016) April Young (2004) Cali Burke (2015) Anna Lafferty (2010) Melissa Campbell (2015) Jacque Marino (2013) Kitchen Staff Alissa Chahine (2017) Jinnine Miller (2014) Lance Fahy (2017 Patty Collier (2008) Jessica O’Flannagan (2016) Johnny Johnson (2015) Gini Cook (2014) Jen Perea (2014) Cal Santo (2014)

Kelly Forsyth (2012) Mike Pisani (1996) Ashley Gall (2013) Bre Russell (2008) Jennifer Herrick (2018) Whitney Smith (2013) Shelby Huggins (2017) Michelle Talley (2014) Carly Humes (2017) Maggie Vinduska (2011)


Strategic Goal: Increase parent involvement in order to make all families feel welcome, supported and engaged in the Hilltop

community. ___________________________________________________

In the spring, Hilltop sent out a parent survey to gather feedback from our families. We had a great response, 152 of 229 families responded to the survey. We were able to gather some great information that allowed us to grow into this fiscal year. Below are some key data points from the family survey: 98.6% of families believe the teacher takes good care of my child, helps my child learn to get along with others, and is a good teacher. 96% of families have been invited to participate in classroom or building activities 97% of families are happy with their child’s progress and the opportunity to discuss progress with teacher. 96% of families believe that Hilltop provide services to meet individual or special needs and also provides community resources as needed. 81% of families feel they are always welcome at the program and are invited to participate by helping plan events, being involved in decisions about the program, and taking leadership roles. These are just a few highlights from last year’s survey. If you have interest in

working with Hilltop, and the parent support committee, please contact Renee

Olson ([email protected]). This committee will work on things like family

outreach activities for the year.


Strategic Goal: Increase parent involvement in order to make all families feel welcome, supported and engaged in the Hilltop

community. (continued) ________________________________________________________

This year Hilltop has worked on creating opportunities for our parents to get involved in the classrooms. Many classrooms have introduced a “Mystery Reader” program in their classrooms. Parents would spend just a few minutes coming into the classroom and reading a book to the students. The children love to see their parents in the room and really engaging in the child’s environment. Thanks to the dozens of families that have participated in this program over the last year.

Hilltop families turned out in great numbers to walk and ride in this year’s KU Homecoming Parade. The teachers of Hilltop constructed a great float to show that Hilltop was “Out of this World.” We had over 30 families join us for this very eventful ride.

During the year, Hilltop offered a variety of Parent Education nights. These nights were hosted at Hilltop and covered a variety of topics, including:

A to Zzz’s: A Guide to Your Child’s Sleep Helping Kids Eat Their Greens and Beans: A Guide to Children’s Nutrition

We will continue these workshops throughout next year. Look out for announcements!!


Strategic Goal: Recruit and retain the highest quality staff in early childhood education by investing in incentivized professional

development opportunities. ____________________________________________________________

Academic Training

89% OF FULL TIME TEACHERS/ADMIN

HAVE AN ADVANCED DEGREE OR

CERTIFICATE. FOUR HAVE A

MASTER’S DEGREE Professional Development

LAST YEAR, 100% OF HILLTOP

TEACHERS ACCUMULATED AT LEAST

15 HOURS OF CONTINUING

EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

EDUCATION

Experience

HILLTOP TEACHERS HAVE AN

AVERAGE OF 8.5 YEARS OF

CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE. HILLTOP

RETAINED 32 OF 34 TEACHERS FROM

LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR. Classroom Understanding

87% OF HILLTOP TEACHERS HAVE

TAUGHT IN MORE THAN ONE AGE

GROUP. THIS CREATES GREATER

UNDERSTANDING OF THE

DEVELOPMENTAL CAPABILITIES OF

A CHILD

Class Evaluations

HILLTOP TEACHERS CONSISTENTLY

SCORE ABOVE THE NATIONAL

AVERAGE IN ALL AREAS OF THE

CLASS OBSERVATION TOOL (BASED ON

DATA FROM TEACHSTONE, INC)


Strategic Goal: Develop clear policies and procedures to demonstrate organizational capability and codify institutional

practices. __________________________________________________

The Hilltop teacher board has been working all year to make improvements and changes to the personnel and family handbook. The goal is to create a more updated professional experience and an improved family experience.

The Assistant Director and the Curriculum Director have updated all new staff orientations to improve the onboarding process for staff. These orientations are designed to prepare staff for classrooms and also to ensure all policies and procedures are introduced from day one, thus improving the preparedness of all part time and full time staff.

Strategic Goal: Communicate Hilltop’s mission, progress toward strategic initiatives, and financial picture through regular

messaging to families, staff, and KU and community partners. _______________________________________________

This year, Hilltop launched a new communication app for classrooms. The new app has allowed for increased direct communication to families by teachers and administration. We are able to provide information to families in a complete, efficient, and timely manner. The Hilltop Board of Directors has also been developing a new communication

plan that seeks to improve the overall communication of Hilltop happenings. This

plan focuses on targeted email communications. For example, optional care

signups being more efficient by asking fewer times, allowing parents to plan

further out. The plan will also address how Hilltop utilizes social media. More

announcements communicated via social media and timed for more consistent

reminders.


Other news and notes

Construction Updates: In June, the KU

Central District project completed the

reconstruction of our playgrounds and

garden. The playground was expanded

by over 1000 square feet. We added an

additional small playset and a new

pergola that sits over the expanded

sandbox. Hilltop also added a beautiful

new raised garden area. The Patricia

Pisani garden will be a phenomenal

entrance to Hilltop for years to come. Financial and in-kind contributions from the KU

Central District project made these improvements possible.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate and

Clark/McCown Gordon for their kindness and courtesy shown to Hilltop over the life of

this project.

Hilltop Hustle

The 2017 Hilltop Hustle was one of our most successful years

ever. Not because we had the most runners or had the best

weather, but because it represented something so much

bigger than Hilltop. The Hustle raised money to honor the

memory of a young man, Cole Hayden, who fought so hard to

beat his cancer diagnosis. The Hilltop Hustle raised over

$7,500 for pediatric cancer research at Children’s Mercy

Hospital.

We send a huge thank you to the Special Events

committee (Megan Smith, Mandy Enfield, Tim Mock,

Carmean Volp, and Elizabeth Burgess) for spear heading

this great event!

Save the Date: HILLTOP HUSTLE 2018

June 9, 2018


Financial Reporting

Hilltop recently completed a full audit of FY17, and we are happy to present that

there were no findings from the auditor. The audit was approved by the Hilltop

Finance Committee at the November meeting. The audit was completed by Karlin

and Long.

Below you will find some data comparisons that highlight the Hilltop Budget from

last year and some comparison data as well. Any surplus income will be added to

an operational reserve account. This account allow Hilltop to handle large

purchases (i.e. new vans or kitchen equipment) that may be necessary to keep

Hilltop functioning at a high level.

2,496,713 2,450,215 2,389,298 2,391,274

107,415 58,941 -

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

YTD Actuals 16-17 YTD Actuals 15-16

2016-2017 Operating Results

Revenue Expenses Surplus (Deficit)


87%

4%2%

5% 2%2016-2017 Revenue Source

Tuition & fees Food program Management fees KU student rate funding Other

71%

7%

7%

4%

2016-2017 Expense Breakdown

Payroll Taxes & benefits Food Building maintenance

Classroom supplies Utilities Staff development Professional fees

Van expenses Parking Other


CONGRATULATIONS!!!

2017 KU EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR

The Staff Employee of the Year is Michael Pisani, who has dedicated more than 25 years to the Hilltop Child Development Center and has invested countless hours

of his own time each year to benefit the children and the Hilltop building. Pisani was featured as a September Employee of the Month.

http://news.ku.edu/2016/11/02/ku-announces-september-employees-month

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