Kasha Academy Offers Back-to-Basics Approach

Founded in July 2010, the Kasha Academy in Blue Point takes a back-to-basics approach to teaching while building confidence and character. The school is open to children age 2 to pre-kindergarten under the direction of Sayville resident Amy Teplitz.

Since the school is relatively new, they are relying on word of mouth for their ongoing enrollment. In terms of location, most students are from the Sayville, Oakdale, Bayport-Blue-Point and Patchogue area. There are currently three classrooms in the school and each class will only take a maximum of 15 children to ensure the all-important one-on-one time. Two-year-olds attend school two days a week, three-year-olds are there for three days, and the pre-kindergarten program runs five days, all from 9:15 a.m. to noon.

The back-to-basics approach, coupled with plenty of hands-on activities, is what makes the school so unique, according to Teplitz. “We encourage free play but we want to make sure these kids have all the skills they need to start school," she said, "Teachers have one-on-one time with their students every day. Once the class sizes get too large, you can’t get to know each child’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Manners are also very important and even the younger ones are taught proper etiquette. “We learn about how to behave at the dinner table, how to say please and thank you and we recently took the children on a field trip to a restaurant so they could learn the proper behavior there as well," Teplitz said, and added that the children take field trips once a month.

All the teachers reinforce positive behavior with sticker charts, prizes, a treasure chest of goodies and even a special bell. They are all certified in infant/child/adult CPR, AED and first aid. "Miss Amy," who serves as the school's director, and also as a teacher, said the teachers in the academy were all hand-selected by her based on their personalities and how well they interacted with the children, more than what appears on a resume.

“Our goal here is to take all the anxiety out of kindergarten,” Teplitz said. Guest speakers come in frequently as well, such as a recent visit by a dental hygienist and a 911 operator. The children have a different special every day including music, gym, Spanish, library, yoga and art. The older children are currently learning how to play the song flutes.

Show and tell takes place every Friday. “It’s a great opportunity for public speaking and to give children a chance to be speakers and for others to be good listeners," Teplitz said.

Snacks are provided by the school and always tie into the day’s programs. For example, the children are learning about bears hibernating (they each brought in a bear that will stay in a box until springtime) so they had teddy grahams during snack time.

Kasha Academy has open enrollment for the school year and also conducts Camp Kasha during the summer vacation.  There is also a Mommy & Me 12-week program available for children ages six months to 20 months for $180.

Tuition rates (per month) are as follows: $165 for the two-day program; $225 for three days; and $385 for five days. For more information, visit www.kashaacademy.com.