Help with preschool selection, enrollment

[KBecks]

I searched but wasn't able to come up with any of the prior discussions of preschools. So, Alek will be ready for 3 year old preschool in the fall and enrollment deadlines are coming up in January and February. I feel a little overwhelmed and need to sort out my thoughts. I need to evaluate these schools and come to a decision. Here's where I'm at. I've got the names of 4 schools I'm interested in.

Playschool not too far

Preschool where Alek has been doing 2 year old parent-child class, affiliated with a Christian church

Very close preschool, "Montessori-lite" approach

Monessori preschool, 20 minute drive, 5 mornings a week, $5k a year.

I am probably eliminating the Montessori school, as much as I am enthralled with the Montessori method. I'm not sure I want to let my 3 year old go 5 days a week, as I want him to be a kid, and it's a further drive and a lot of money. But I kind of feel I should still check it out just in case? But I really don't want 5 days a week, so what's the point?

I have called the other threee schools and all have good reputations with the moms I know so that is good, there is probably no bad choice.

I need to visit these schools, they all have open houses but their enrollment deadlines are further apart and I feel I may need to reserve a space at one of the schools while I wait to see if we can enroll at the other school, if we want to enroll at the one with the latest deadline so that we don't get left out of enrollment anywhere. I do need to get down to our top 2 choices however.

We are very happy with the 2 year old program and its logical to continue at that school, but I am very interested in the playschool and montessori-lite school.

Now, what things should I look for? What questions to ask?

When I read Paradox of Choice it said that healthcare and education decisions are the most important choices one makes in life, so I'm freaking out a little over this. I know, it's only preschool, but I very much want my baby's first school experiences to be happy.

I also need go get moving on this, I feel indecision paralysis. The schools are all very laid back when I call. I'm not laid back, I'm anxious!

[o_mom]

I toured 3 preschools and realy just "knew" after that which one was right. Like you I eliminated Montessori because it was 5 days a week and $$$.

One of the biggest factors in my decision was how they treated siblings. Some schools would not even allow siblings to come to programs so they were eliminated without even visiting. The one we chose allows siblings on field trips if you are driving (and paying, obviously). For parent-teacher conferences the aide plays with your child and siblings in the next room so you don't have to get a sitter. These are just a few of the family-friendly things at the school.

The second thing that seemed a good fit was the size. There are 10 kids with a teacher and aide. There are only two classes in the building at a time, so at pickup there are only 20 cars or less. It is less hectic and I felt like it would be more personal.

Beyond those two things, they spend a large part of the time there in play and the "academics" are incorporated into fun actvities such as crafts and games.

I think if you visit the two you are thinking about switching to, you will get a better idea of how well they will fit your family. You can also find out what the enrollment process is like. Most of the ones I talked to had an enrollment fee ($20-60) that you paid when you got a spot, but you didn't have to pay anything else until September. In that case, you could pay the fee at the one that enrolls first while you check out the other one and worst case you are out a little bit of money if you like another one better.

ETA: PT philosophy was another topic. This one didn't require PT for 3 yos (though DS1 was) but several others had very strict PT policies for 3 yos. Since we want to send all the boys to the same school if possible I didn't want to be stuck with the other two if they didn't PT right at three.

[kristenk]

I'm trying to think back to how we chose DD's preschool, and it's hard to remember! We ended up going with the one that a friend through MOMS Club raved about. Her daughter went to preschool there and then she started teaching there. I thought that she had a good feel for the place and if she felt comfortable sending her DD there AND working there, it most likely had to be a pretty good place.

When I was still looking at other preschools, though, probably the biggest factors for me was school schedule for the class that DD would enroll in (2.5yo) and for the future years (3yo and 4yo classes). I thought it would be best to assume that we'd keep DD in the same school for all of her preschool years so it made sense to check into the older classes. Since DD started at 2.5yo I really didn't want her to have a long day. I also wasn't comfortable with her having lunch at school - mainly b/c of the extra time at school that would require. I also didn't want to have her nap at school. So, last year, DD was in school from 9-11:30 on Tuesday and Thursday.

This year (3yo class), she once again attends on Tuesday and Thursday, but the school extended their morning hours to noon (hooray!) and she stays for one extended day until 2:45. DD very rarely naps now, so I'm comfortable with her being at school later this year.

I also asked about discipline, potty learning, etc. I found that most of the schools I was interested in had similar philosophies on discipline, etc., so it really came down to the schedule for me.

ETA: Reading the PP's post made me think of two other things. First, class size was definitely important. The smaller the better as far as I was concerned. The second was drop-off and pick-up procedures. There was one school that I really liked that would probably be in you Montessori-lite category. I liked everything about it, except for their drop off procedures. They said that they welcomed parents in the classroom, but some of the policies didn't seem to mesh with that philosophy. The biggest deal-breaker for me was car-line. The school wanted to have a car-line at drop-off and pick-up. I was fine with a car-line at pick-up, but I most definitely did NOT want car-line at drop-off especially considering that they would start that on DAY 1. Yikes. I could just imagine my child - who did not have much experience with group child-care - being taken from our car by ANY teacher (they didn't even guarantee that your child would be picked up by someone with whom she was even slightly familiar) and all of the screams and tears that would accompany that. I really liked the school until I found out about car-line and it was only in passing at the very end of my discussion that I found out about it. I just assumed that all preschools would have you take your child to DC's classroom, etc., and didn't even think that there would be different practices in place. Definitely ask about that!

[KBecks]

Ooh, good info. Did you do visits alone or did you take your kids along? I'm afriad that taking a 3 year old and 18 month old would be chaos, especially since I am not great at keeping them both in control.

The montessori-lite school basically said drop in anytime, which another mom said is good, but I felt uncomfortable out, security-wise. I'll see how it feels but I feel strange just walking into a school.

I will see if I can get their policies mailed to me. Great thoughts!

The playschool is the least expensive and I read an unconfirmed internet review that said people wait outside for hours (in Feb! in WI!) to get a place. I've never waited for anything like that.

[Karenn]

I'd make sure to visit. My choice became very clear after I visited the schools. Interestingly, I like the schools with the best reputation among my friends the least. It was my teacher friends that pointed me towards the school we picked, so if you know any Kindergarten teachers in the area, ask them.

I'd look at the environment & ask about the schedule. One school I visited had 45 minutes of circle time! We crossed that one off the list. Another had tiny classrooms. I also eliminated a school that encouraged me to do my visit when the children were gone.

[o_mom]

I did my visits with the kids. I had DS2 in the stroller and DS1 walked. The schools I visited did encourage to visit anytime, which was a good sign. One I just walked in the front (it was in a church) and was kind of wandering around aimlessly until someone noticed. I wasn't really comfortable with that from a security perspective. The one we chose locks the front door after all the kids are in and you have to be "buzzed" in by the office. Parents can purchase a keycard for $5 if they want so they can come in without being buzzed, though you can still visit any time.

We walk in to drop off in the morning and then they bring the kids out to the car-line at the end. Since it is small, I can talk to the teacher if there are problems and not feel like we are holding up a huge line.

[kristenk]

For the montessori-lite with horrible car-line policy, I visited with DD. Unfortunately, school wasn't in session, but it was during the summer so seeing kids in class just wasn't an option. A lot of other preschools were crossed off the list after looking at their policies/schedule on-line or asking about it over the phone. The preschool we chose, I think I visited by myself b/c I wanted to be able to ask questions and focus on the answers and I didn't think I could do that too easily with DD in tow. DD came with me to registration, though, and we'd done a mommy & me sample class at the school.

[dr mom]

DS and I visited preschools together last year, using a clever trick I learned from my mother, who is a teacher. We dropped in unannounced at each school in the middle of the morning, and entered through the wrong door so that we had to walk past all the classrooms to reach the office.

At most schools, someone approached us immediately, welcomed us to the school, and offered to show us around. If I could walk through the school without anyone noticing or stopping us, I figured their security wasn't good enough, and crossed them off the list. At the very best schools, the adult who greeted us made a point of talking to DS and engaging him, before focusing on me.

I asked about pick-up and drop-off procedures (ideal: no car line), schedule (ideal: no more than 15 minutes on ANY activity), teacher training (ideal: all teachers have formal training in childhood education), school philosophy (ideal: developmentally appropriate, play-based), PT (ideal: willing to work on kids not quite ready to give up diapers), parent involvement (ideal: parents welcome in the classroom anytime), and handling problems (Ideal: school has already thought out a reasonable answer for questions like "what do you do if a child won't stop crying?" "what happens if DS has a potty accident in class?" "how do you handle food allergies?").

We ended up at a church-based preschool, and I love, love love our school. registration for church schools is highly competitive where I live, and many schools have wait lists, so another pertinent question to ask is whether or not they expect to have a space for your child...how many kids get wait-listed...or how many families are in the lottery for how many spots.