Fast Facts About BlueSkies
Based on 2005-2006 Fiscal Year

The Children
Enrollment:
Average number enrolled each month 83
Average number of hours enrolled per week 43
Families qualified for reduced tuition (based on need) 21%
Children with special needs 13%
Children of color 58%
Innovative families 33%

Teacher Education
Child development classes offered 5
Adult students (teachers) taking 1 or more classes 66

The Staff:
Average number of employees 37
Employees at AOCS more than 5 years 18
Hold MA or BA degree 30%
English Language Learners 58%
People of color 80%
Full-time employees 88%
Seniors 15%

Finance
Annual Budget $1.6 million
Income Source: Tuition & Fees 78%
Income Source: Donations and Grants 20%
Expenses: Program Costs 83%
Expenses: Administration/ Fundraising 17%

 BlueSkies, founded in 1983 as Association of Children's Services (AOCS), serves 85 children annually (providing 178,000 child-hours per year!) through the Children’s Program. Families come from Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, Richmond, Orinda, Moraga, San Leandro and Martinez. Children of color, most multi-cultural, make up 58% of the enrollment. The Children’s Program is purposefully inclusive, so that each child will feel 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. The important components are:
• Consistency of care 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.
• Open all but one week each year
• Experienced teachers
• Program based on the academic, 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 challenge the mind and promote social-emotional growth
• Lab school setting