Education

Picking a Preschool: A Guide for Parents

February 27th, 2014

It’s that time of year. Parents are already thinking about preschool enrollment for the 2014-2015 school year. But, where do you begin? WABE sought input from two early childhood education experts at Georgia State University.

Hear the broadcast version of this story.

Starting Out

Stacey French-Lee is the director of GSU’s child development program. She says parents need to visit preschools person.

“I think safety and health of the children would be the first thing that you’d want to look at,” she says. “You want to think about staff/child ratios, teacher qualifications, all of those types of things when you think about where you’d like to place your child.”

French-Lee says during an observation, parents should take note of the classroom environment, including staff/child interactions.

“Are the staff engaged with the children?” she says. “Are they down on their level? Are the children engaged? Do they seem happy? Would you want to be in that environment all day long?”

She says parents should also:

Note the diversity and different ethnicities represented. Is the school inclusive of people from different cultures?
Assess the quantity of materials. Is there enough for each child?
Size up the environment. Are there separate centers for math, science, etc.?
Look at the outdoor play environment. Do children have opportunities to climb and run throughout the day?
Is there music and movement?

Questions to Ask

Ask about the menu. Are meals nutritious?
What’s the health policy? When are children excluded from care?
Does the school have an open-door policy? Is the center open for parents to come in at any time of the day?
How does the center communicate with parents?
What’s the teacher/student ratio? (For example, the state recommends 1:6 for toddlers.)
What’s the discipline policy?
Ask to see the daily schedule and lesson plans.
Ask to see the curriculum.

Finding the Right Fit

Dr. Ruth Saxton is a clinical assistant professor at GSU. She also coordinates the university’s birth through five teacher education program. Saxton says parents should avoid centers that aren’t noisy, where kids inactive and don’t have choices.

“If you went into the classroom and you saw, for example, all children seated, at desks, long periods of time, struggling with activities that are above their ability level or knowledge level, that’s a concern,” she says.

Also, Saxton says it’s important to choose a center that will accommodate your child’s individual abilities and interests. If the center seems more interested in promoting its own curriculum instead, it may not be a good fit for your child, she says.

Some popular preschool philosophies include Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia. French-Lee and Saxton say many programs are a combination of all three. They say determining which of those programs is best may depend on the individual child.Online Resources for Parents

Both Saxton and French-Lee say licensing is a minimum requirement. Parents can check a center’s licensing history through the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning’s website.

DECAL is also rolling out a new Quality Rated system, which evaluates centers on a system of one to three stars.

In addition, the National Association for the Education of Young Children accredits preschool centers. NAEYC also has a checklist of what parents should look for when picking a preschool. Quality Care for Children also has parent checklists and information.