Enrollment
Fruit and Flower has served working and student families in the Portland metro area since 1906. We provide an exemplary early education program that focuses on the individual child and their specific strengths and learning styles. Our classrooms combine purposeful play and teacher directed activities that keep children actively engaged in learning and discovery. Teachers are dedicated to guiding and facilitating a love of learning with an emphasis on literacy, math, science and art.
This center provides wonderful on-campus child care for the PCC community. PCC students and faculty/staff may choose from any of our full time or part time care options.
We are also open to families in the greater community. Community members may only enroll full time, 5 days per week.
Wait List
We are actively enrolling children for Fall 2021!
Once the center is full, we maintain a list of families who have submitted a waiting list application and paid the applicable wait list fee. Wait list fees are waived for PCC students.
Families give us basic information including the age of the child, the date they would like to enroll, and phone numbers to contact them. When an opening occurs, we bring up a list of children whose birthdays fall within the appropriate range for that opening. Families are contacted for openings in the order that they have been waiting. If the timing of the opening is a good fit for the family, we begin the enrollment process. If the family asks us to do so, we keep them on our list for future openings.
Currently enrolled children and siblings of currently enrolled children have priority status when it comes to an opening in a given room. Before we look at the wait list for candidates for our openings, we look to our current families and the group of children in the younger room.
The length of the list varies with the age group. In most cases, our longest list is for infants. But the list for infants moves more quickly than other lists, since it is the only one which does not compete with currently enrolled children.
The wait list fee is not refundable and does not guarantee a reserved space within the program.
Monthly Tuition (Rock Creek Center)
Beginning in September 2021, the monthly fees are as follows:
| ENROLLMENT OPTIONS | INFANT | TRANSITIONAL PRESCHOOL | PRESCHOOL |
| 6 weeks – 24 months | 24-35 months | 36-60 months | |
| 5 Full Days | $1,618 | $1,529 | $1,242 |
| 5 Half Days AM (PCC Students/Faculty only) | $983 | $913 | $785 |
| 5 Half Day PM (PCC Students/Faculty only) | $784 | $728 | $626 |
| 3 Full Days (PCC Students/Faculty only) | $1,077 | $962 | $783 |
| 3 Half Days AM (PCC Students/Faculty only) | $654 | $607 | $523 |
| 3 Half Days PM (PCC Students/Faculty only) | $522 | $485 | $417 |
| 2 Full Days (PCC Students/Faculty only) | $777 | $693 | $597 |
| 2 Half Days AM (PCC Students/Faculty only) | $472 | $438 | $377 |
| 2 Half Days PM (PCC Students/Faculty only) | $376 | $350 | $300 |
A registration fee will be due once staff and parents have agreed upon a specific starting date for enrollment: $100 fee, $50 fee for PCC faculty/staff, $25 fee for PCC students. Tuition is due on the first of each month, unless special arrangements have been made with a Director. If tuition is not paid by the 10th of the month the account will be considered delinquent and a $25 fee will be assessed. Failure to pay tuition may cause termination of care.
Payments can be made by check or cash at the front desk, your online banking program or TUITION EXPRESS. This service offers the convenience of automatic tuition payments. To learn more about utilizing Tuition Express you can visit WWW.TUITIONEXPRESS.COM. Credit card payments are an option with an additional transaction fee of $35 to be charged by the bank.
Fruit & Flower is unable to discount monthly tuition fees due to minor illnesses or vacations. If your child is absent due to a serious medical condition but will be returning to our care, please talk with our executive director.
Scholarship
Fruit & Flower has a long tradition of providing scholarship opportunities to families in need. Based on income and family size, these scholarships help working families who couldn’t otherwise afford high quality child care. But they also help us, because we strongly believe in the value of bringing children together from different backgrounds to ensure social and economic diversity in our classrooms. To find out if you qualify, please contact us at 503-228-8349.
Scholarships are funded by multiple sources including (but not limited to):
- The Fruit & Flower Board of Directors has established a scholarship fund for scholarship assistance endowment. Annually our board reviews a draw from this fund to be applied to scholarships.
- Grant requests to foundations.
- Individual contributions from our parents, alumni, and through fundraising.
If families are not eligible for Department of Human Services (DHS) funding, Fruit & Flower will offer up to a 30% discount to qualified families. Because of limited funding, we are unable to fund all requests for assistance.
Applicants are first expected to apply for DHS child care funding. If approved, DHS will determine the state funding, and the amount that the family is required to pay. Fruit & Flower will honor DHS decisions.
Scholarships are granted in compliance with the Fruit & Flower scholarship policy. Scholarships are granted at the beginning of January and July of each year. The scholarship committee will review and approve applications for scholarships. Interested parties are required to apply by completing a FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FORM (PDF) or ONLINE HERE.
