A little something about our Founder
Gloria was born and raised in San Francisco. She attended SFUSD schools where she formed many friendships and now has the privilege to serve friends she went to school with. When she became a mother in 2015, her life was transformed and in 2016, Banana Fana Preschool was created. Her passion in early childcare education came from wanting to provide a healthy foundation for her children. The importance of serving her community where she grew up and offering the same starting foundation for SF children, enlightened her passion to grow Banana Fana Preschool. Since 2016, Banana Fana Preschool and served hundreds of families and continuing to serve families of San Francisco. Gloria's commitment to her staff, students and community has been a priority for Banana Fana. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice. During the pandemic, she focused on learning more about child development and has completed over 24 Early Childhood Education units. She enjoys the beauty of flowers, and her favorite food is lasagna.
School Calendar
Sept 6th Labor Day
Oct 11th Indigenious People's Day/ Dia De La Raza
Nov 11th Veteran's Day
Nov 22-26 Thanksgiving Recess
Dec 20- Dec 31 Winter Recess
Jan 3rd- Staff development
Jan 16th Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb 20th President's Day
Mar 27- March 31 Spring Recess
May 29- Memorial Day
June 26- July 7th Summer Break
4 PTO Closed and TBD
Please note that the preschool calendar is based on the San Francisco Unified School District Schedule for holidays for the most part; however, we are a year-round program with new enrollment occurring on an ongoing basis as space allows. We have 4 PTO/Sick Days throughout the school year. We also follow SFUSD's for any unexpected/emergency school closures (i.e. poor air quality closures due to fires, etc.)
DAILY ROUTINE
Routine is important for children in preschool and we strive for a punctual schedule :)
8:30 am- Children arriving and a teacher will be waiting outside to check temp (Saludos y Abrazos) handwashing upon arrival
9:00 am- Free Play at Stations
9:30 am- Hand washing and Snack Time
9:45 am- Hygiene Time (potty and hand washing)
10:00am Outdoor exploration in our backyard
11:30am- Outdoor Lunch (handwashing outside)
12:00pm-Handwashing and getting ready for nap
12:15pm- Nap / Rest-time
2:15pm- Hygiene Time
2:30pm- Snack Time
3:00 pm- First Dismissal (El Primer Adios)
After school care is until 4:30pm,
During our Extended Care, children also get to explore and expand their curious little minds outside from until pick up
(weather permitting). Our extented care is also part of our Spanish immersion program, children will continue being immersed in the language
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HOW MANY STUDENTS DO YOU HAVE A DAY?Our in-home location is licensed for 14 children a day. However, we usually have about 12 students a day. Ages currently range from 1yr -6 years. Our Mission center location- pending capacity but may be between 30-36 children a day.
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HOW OFTEN ARE YOU OUTSIDE?We believe that children also thrive while playing outside so our students spend about two hours outdoors in the morning.. For our Mission center location we will have daily trips to our neighborhood playgrounds.
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HOW ARE PAYMENTS MADE?We currently accept check and we also use Billing through Brightwheel. We are working on accepting payments through our website! We are also a City Funded program and accept ELS vouchers.
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DO YOU OFFER TUITION ASSISTANCE?We are a proud to be able to offer in-school scholarships to those who qualifty. We believe in diversity on all levels. We are a participator in SF ELS program where qualifying families can receive city-funding for early childhood education. Please check to see if you qualify here https://www.earlylearningsf.org
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DOES MY CHILD HAVE TO KNOW SPANISH TO ENROLL?Everyone is welcome! No need to have prior Spanish background before enrolling.
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HOW OFTEN IS SPANISH SPOKEN IN THE CLASSROOM?Our students are exposed to Spanish all throughout the day.
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WHAT IS YOUR TEACHER STUDENT RATIO?We have a 1:3 teacher student ratio and some days even a 1:2.5. Example- we may have 14 children and 5 teachers! This allows very intimate school setting. For our center location we will aim for a 1:6 ratio
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WHAT KIND OF MEALS DO YOU PREPARE FOR THE CHILDREN?We offer two snacks and one cold or hot lunch. We are not a nut-free school but we do accommodate vegetarians. An example of an AM snack would be organic plain yogurt with some fresh fruit and granola. For lunch we offer a variety of nutritious meals from "Gallo pinto" (a traditional Nicaraguan dish) to "Taco Tuesday" (Usually ground turkey mixed with black beans on a hard taco shell and fix ins) PM Snack is usually crackers and fruit or protein. We are fans of LOTS of frutas!
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HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH PARENTS?Parent Communication is important in our program. Parents are encouraged to be part of our intimate community by participating in our quarterly get-togethers . We are also a daily user of Brightwheel where parents and caregivers are notified about their child's day. We update meals, potty, incidents, accidents and PICTURES!
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