Teacher Education
College students and teachers observing at BlueSkies: 53
BlueSkies books & DVDs sold by Redleaf Press: 455

Teachers & Staff
Average number of employees: 37
Employees at BlueSkies more than 5 years: 17
Hold MA or BA degree: 33%
Teacher turnover rate: 14%
English-language learners: 51%
People of color: 73%
Full-time employees: 94%
Staff over age 55: 30%

Finance
Annual Budget (expense): $1.7 million
Income Source: Tuition & Fees: 90%
Income Source: Donations and Grants: 10%
Expenses: Program Costs: 84%
Expenses: Administration/ Fundraising: 16%

BlueSkies, founded in 1983 as Association of Children's Services (AOCS), provided 170,000 child-hours of care last year to families from Oakland and the East Bay. Children of color, most multicultural, make up 58% of the enrollment. The Children’s Program is purposefully inclusive, communicating to each child that the world welcomes him or her as an individual human being; children from innovative families are welcomed, as are children with special needs and children whose families require financial assistance for enrollment.

No individual facet of the Children’s Program is unique, but the combination is not found elsewhere in the East Bay. Key components are:

• High teacher-child ratios
• Consistent care and education philosophy from infancy until kindergarten
• Cloth diapers and soft, cozy spaces for infants
• Wholesome food prepared on site, appropriate to each age group
• Open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., 51 weeks each year
• Experienced teachers trained to provide and articulate quality care
• Program based on interrelated disciplines of human development: child development, psychology, physiology, spirituality, social consciousness, and mental health
• Classrooms designed for the needs of each age and level of development
• Play yards full of natural materials and plants as well as age-appropriate activities that both challenge the mind and promote social-emotional growth
• Lab school setting