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Early Education Center
About Us
St. Barnabas UMC Early Education Center began in August 2001 as a Parent’s Day Out program. The program was formed as an extension of the ministry of St. Barnabas United Methodist Church when there became a need in our church community for a program that catered to parents of preschool children. As we have continued to grow, the program has become a place where children can experience a balanced program of early childhood education surrounded by Christian values. It provides a program of preschool classes for children 6 weeks of age through Pre-K. The mission of EEC is to provide a Christ-centered environment in which faith can be integrated with learning to enable students to become spiritually, academically, emotionally, socially and physically prepared to achieve all that God desires for them. The Center is governed by a church-appointed committee and is administered by the Director
Enrollment Documents
2025/2026 School Year:
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2025-2026 School Year Calendar
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Complete Enrollment Packet 2025-2026
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2026 Summer Program:
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Pre-enrollment Packet Summer 2026
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2026-2027 Complete Enrollment Packet​​
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2026-2027 School Year:
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2026-2027 School Year Calendar
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Pre-enrollment Packet 2026-2027 School Year
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For more information, contact
Angela Purselley, EEC Director, at (817)476-6174
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Our Staff
The safety, love and spiritual growth of the children in our care is our top priority. Our staff undergoes continuous training to ensure they provide an environment that is secure, nurturing and rooted in faith. We are committed to:
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Small student/teacher ratios;
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Competitive prices;
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Academic-based curriculum with Christian values;
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Frog Street Curriculum taught in all classes infant through Pre-K
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Hours of Operation
EEC Current 2025/2026 academic school year operating hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for Infants.
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SUMMER 2026 EEC hours of operation are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 am to 5:00 p.m. for Infants.
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EEC hours of operation starting August 12, 2026, for the 2026/2027 school year will be 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for ALL children including Infants.
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Classes meet Monday through Friday.
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EEC offers an eight-week summer program. This program is broken into two (2) four-week sessions: May 26, 2026 through June 18, 2026 and June 29, 2026 through July 24, 2026. A child is enrolled for the entire eight weeks when enrolled for the summer. Prior registration must be completed before a child can attend this program. We will observe the July 4th holiday and Juneteenth holiday during the summer.
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Holidays
EEC follows the Arlington ISD school calendar for holidays. Our 2026/2027 academic calendar begins the same day as Arlington ISD starts on August 12, 2026, and ends on May 26, 2027.
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Registration
Early registration begins in February each year for families already enrolled in the program. Open enrollment for the public and those on the waitlist begins on February 27th at 6am (in-person enrollment process) and continues until all available spaces are filled. A completed enrollment form and a registration/supply fee are required for each child to be enrolled. This is a one-time annual fee and is non-refundable/non-transferable.
We accept children age 6 weeks of age through Pre-K. All of our classes are structured based on the child’s age as of September 1st.
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Tuition
Our school year tuition is set on a yearly fee divided into 10 equal monthly payments from August 1st through May 1st. Our summer Tuition is divided into 2 equal payments due June 1st and July 1st.
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Curriculum
The curriculum is appropriately designed for the age groups and to the stage of development of each child. Children learn best through hands-on activities. We believe that a child absorbs his/her concept of God through people, things and experiences that are a part of his/her environment. Thus, a love and appreciation for God, Christ and the things God has made are stressed through appropriate activities. The curriculum is designed to help the child develop in all facets of his life ― physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually. We have adopted the FROG STREET curriculum in addition to many other resources. Frog Street is a comprehensive, research-based program that integrates instruction across developmental domains and early learning disciplines.
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The cornerstones of the program include:
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An extensive integration of theme, disciplines, and domains
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Social and Emotional development includes Dr. Becky Bailey’s Conscious Discipline ®
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Differentiated instruction
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Equity of English materials and instruction
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Joyful approach to learning
EEC
ACTIVITIES
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Physical Education
Physical activity benefits children's health and development in many ways. It builds muscles, improves coordination, reduces disease risk and improves self-esteem. Activity may even boost academic performance.
Children will be encouraged to move and play actively every day:
• Infants will have supervised tummy time.
• Toddlers will play actively for 60 minutes daily.
• Preschoolers and Pre-K will play actively for 90 minutes daily.
Outdoor time will be offered when weather permits:
• 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon
Children will have:
• At least 2 structured active play/games daily.
• Continuous opportunities to develop gross motor skills.
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Specialty classes (Music & Movement, Spanish & Science)
Our children enjoy more than ABC’s and 123’s- we nurture the whole child with engaging, developmentally, appropriate extracurricular. No extra fees, just extra opportunities!
Specialty classes (Music & Movement, Spanish & Science)
Music is a wonderful way for children to express themselves. The music program teaches music awareness through rhythms and patterns, listening skills, instrumentation, finger plays, singing and musical movement. Exploring these different variations of music gives children a sense of accomplishment and makes them feel good about themselves. We have musical performances each year involving all classes which is shared and enjoyed with families.
Spanish is an excellent way to introduce children to a second language. Children will be introduced this language through vocabulary words, songs, stories, and pictures.
Science for preschoolers is an introduction to the basic principles and concepts of scientific thinking and discovery. It is a way for young children to explore and understand the world around them and to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
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Chapel
Children will attend chapel in the sanctuary. During this time, the children will sing songs, hear a Bible story and talk about God and the Bible. This will be in addition to the Bible stories that are read and the spiritual growth that will take place in their individual classrooms.
For more information, contact Angela Purselley
EEC Director, at (817) 476-6174 Direct line