Frequently Asked Questions

NW Irving Center: Monday through Friday – 7:30 am to 6 pm.

We comply with all Oregon ratio requirements, and are usually above those requirements to insure the best care of the children in our programs.                        
 
Preschool/Pre-K    
1:10 adult/child ratio                                                                

Transitional Preschool      
1:5 adult/child ratio                                                             

Toddler    
1:4 adult/child ratio      
Children who are 12 to months old                        
 
Infants    
1:4 adult/child ratio

Sometimes ice and snow may cause a delay in opening the center or on rare occasions not allow us to open. All families will be given the option to register for our emergency text alert system upon enrollment. Text alerts will be sent out in case of any emergency situation or center closure.
To get the latest information on the center’s weather closures you can also check: 
– Our voice mail (503-228-8349),  
– Website (www.FruitandFlower.org),  
– FlashAlert updates on the local news channels (https://www.flashalert.net/id/FruitFlower)
– Facebook  
 
If Portland Public Schools close due to weather, we will also close. The center will also be closed if the power is out, water is off or public transportation has shut down.

Fruit & Flower is closed on these holidays:  
– The Friday before Labor Day* and Labor Day 
-Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Columbus Day)*
– Veteran’s Day* 
– Thanksgiving and the Friday after 
– The week of Christmas 
– New Year’s Day 
– Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday 
– President’s Day*
-Spring Break aligning with Portland Public Schools
– Memorial Day
– Juneteenth
– The week of July 4th 
* Teacher in- service days 

All of our teachers and staff are CPR & First Aid certified. 

Yes, but co-pays apply.

We follow strict cleaning and sanitizing practices to keep children safe and healthy. Any mouthed toys are placed immediately in a designated “to be cleaned” bucket. Tables and chairs are sanitized several times throughout the day, and all toys and surfaces are disinfected every evening. Bathrooms, floors, and high-touch areas are also cleaned and disinfected daily.

If your child develops a high fever, one of the excludable infections listed by the Health Department, or just feels so poorly that he or she can’t participate in our regular program, you will be asked to come and take your child home. They may return to the center once they are well again, and the prescribed amount of time has passed.

In order to protect your child, we require that you provide the names of any individual who has permission to pick up your child. We require advance notice from you when someone other than a family member will be picking up your child and will check identification. If we have any questions or concerns, we ask that you are available via cell phone to provide confirmation.

Our center has a secure entry point. Families will be given a code to access the building. Visitors and non-custodial adults can ring the doorbell and wait to be let in by the office manager.

Yes! We prepare and serve nutritious, home-cooked meals and snacks for children. Our weekly menus are posted at the front desk and on our website. 

We maintain a list of families who have submitted a waiting list application and paid the applicable wait list fee. Families give us basic information including the age of the child, the date they would like to enroll, and phone numbers to contact them. When an opening occurs, we bring up a list of children whose birthdays fall within the appropriate range for that opening. Families are contacted for openings in the order that they have been waiting. If the timing of the opening is a good fit for the family, we begin the enrollment process. If the family asks us to do so, we keep them on our list for future openings.Currently enrolled children and siblings of currently enrolled children have priority status when it comes to an opening in a given room. Before we look at the wait list for candidates for our openings, we look to our current families and the group of children in the younger room.
The length of the list varies with the age group. In most cases, our longest list is for infants. But the list for infants moves more quickly than other lists, since it is the only one which does not compete with currently enrolled children.
The wait list fee is not refundable and does not guarantee a reserved space within the program.