In 2006, Patrick, a Canadian teacher, opened TCA in Zhangjiang High-tech Park, positioning itself as a bilingual international kindergarten. After steady development, TCA added the Jinqiao Campus in 2013. Unlike most international kindergartens where QUA emphasizes the integration of East and West, TCA adopts an absolutely Western-style education, which is admired by some parents and has caused concern among many parents. Overall, families who agree with TCA's educational philosophy are very satisfied with their teaching outcomes.
The sparrow-like Zhangjiang campus is only 1,300 square meters, but it is fully equipped with game rooms, music classrooms, playgrounds, libraries, painting rooms, ecological classrooms, etc., and even a chain children's barber room has been introduced. All classrooms are equipped with air purifiers and are made of environmentally friendly materials. The first floor is a large flat floor, and the indoor activity space is wide, making up for the lack of outdoor sports space. Patrick was involved in almost all of the school's design, with large floor-to-ceiling windows in the classrooms, small but well-lit, and a watery design. The toilet door is curved, which Patrick says has put a lot of thought into protecting privacy and making it easy for children to enter. Unfortunately, TCA Jinqiao Campus is close to the road, which is a bit noisy and the outdoor activity space is small.
Each class is equipped with a Chinese and foreign teacher, who follows the whole class and has foreign language classes every day. Foreign teachers are basically from the United States, the United Kingdom and other native speaking countries, and their accents are standard. TCA also has after-school interest classes, where children can choose from German, French, football, cooking, music and other courses. It should be reminded that the team of foreign teachers in kindergartens is uneven, and some foreign teachers do not have a high level of education and have not received training in English early childhood teaching. Some foreign teachers do not speak Chinese, and it is difficult to communicate with young children who have no English foundation, which affects the teaching effect. For kindergarten English teachers, it is important to have the level and ability of English teaching, nationality is not the most important, please know more.
Like most schools that promote Western-style education, TCA emphasizes respect for individuality, freedom and independence. For activities within the child's ability, the kindergarten teacher will insist that the child complete the activities independently. In addition, due to the convenience of management and health needs, many kindergartens force children to take naps, and the TCA does not make a hard and fast rule, and children who do not want to take a nap will be guided to the play area.
TCA accepts children aged 18 months to 6 years old, with annual tuition fees ranging from 9,600 yuan to 12,000 yuan, plus a registration fee of 2,000 yuan and a monthly meal fee of 720 yuan. Each class size is between 15 and 20 students, and the teacher-student ratio is about 1:4-1:7, which is a reasonable ratio.
Due to the large difference between TCA and domestic kindergartens in teaching, it is recommended that parents make an appointment to visit and understand clearly before making a decision.
