Mis good for the parents and teachers to still have a close connection. And they are not doing much more about the security, they are really just alienating the parents. I was told twice when I got too close to the edge of the table at sign in, that I was not allowed in. I was told this in front of my child. What do you think about all of this?
Thanks everybody for all of your answers. It just doesn't seem right to me either. When my 6 year old was in preschool I really enjoyed the time saying a quick hello to the teachers, even if we were not lingering. This is preschool and they should allot for the extra time. I think it is important for the child to see the interaction between parents and teachers at this age. My other Daughter is 6 and in first grade. I don't walk her to her class. I drop her off in front and she walks in but preschool should be different because they are younger. I had a meeting with the woman in charge of security and she told me it was for safety reasons. I told her I am totally okay with any security measures but parents, at least for the preschoolers should be allowed to walk to the classroom door and say a quick Hello to the teacher. I left there very upset and not understood. She told me I could leave the preschool program if I wanted but that we had "different opinions" on what is best for the children. I just feel sad about this issue and every time I drop off my child It feels crappy. It's just not right. I told her they should buzz individual parents in, so the door is not constantly open, and then they could have better security then just leaving it open and not letting parents pass the table which is narrowly pressed to the door. I just don't feel right about this. I wish I had the money for another preschool but the county offers this for free....it's a shame. I will try to talk to some other parents and encourage them to call her. Again, Thank-you so much! It is nice to hear all of your opinions!
When my son was in Montessori kindergarten, I walked him in to the classroom, he hung up his coat and then came and gave me a hug and said good bye. I would find a new preschool if I were you.
We can't walk kids to the classroom either, but the preschool teacher meets the kids in the front lobby and walks them to class. I think 3 is young to drop off at the door and have the child find the class on his/her own.
Not allowed IN the school? At three? I would be looking for a new school. I think that at 3, you need to speak to the teachers to discuss the day (just today I got a quick, "DD worked really h*** o* her matching today.") and, see the artwork, pick up any art or newsletters from her bin, etc. I would wonder what they are hiding/scared about. If you are already signed in, they know you are there. So what's the deal? I mostly walk DD in to the hallway where she drops her coat and lunch and then she goes into the actual room part herself, but I'm allowed in the area. I know that later in the year they will line up to prepare the kids for big school but that's the 4 yr olds, not the 3s.
ETA: Have you discussed this with other parents and/or talked to the director? It is crappy that she gave you a hard time and basically said take it or leave it. Just because it's free doesn't mean you don't matter.
Its free. They make the rules. I would not like it either but you get what you pay for in this case.
As for a three year old finding his room--they will. My son knew his way around our church at age 3 and could find me in the ushers room, Sunday School room etc.
Depends on how big the school is. If the child can pretty much see their class from the office, then it's normal. They can walk down a hall to their room. And if school started in August/September, she's been doing this for months. She knows where her class is. Having a bunch of parents in the room at the start of the day is disruptive. If every mom went in about the same time, it would be crazy. Your daughter is in a safe place, and is probably more capable than you realize - we mamas sometimes have a hard time letting go and letting our kiddos be independent. Breathe, talk to the office about it in a non confrontational way if you need some reassurance.
Where is the classroom in relation to the door? When my older kids were in pre-k, the classroom was right there, maybe 10 feet from the entrance. The pre-k and kinder kids all entered at that door. The older kids entered on the side. We did not sign them in though. We were allowed to walk them to class for the first 2 weeks. Now my 4 yr old is in her second year. The sign in sheet is just outside their class and we are really encouraged to sign in and go. The kids take their stuff off themselves etc.
I don't know, I was "allowed" to walk my kids into the classroom but they usually took off with barely a goodbye in my direction, which of course, I took as a good sign. Plus I didn't want to distract the teachers from doing their job. I always thought it was more important for them to focus on welcoming the children and making them comfortable rather than chatting with me and making ME feel comfortable, you know? I had plenty of time to chat with the other parents in the parking lot, and the teachers always kept me posted (even if it was only by note and/or email) about how my kids were doing, so it was all good.
Is your child happy and thriving? If yes, then be glad and don't create an issue where there is none. Maybe they have a valid reason for safety concerns (what's the neighborhood like, maybe there are several registered sex offenders within walking distance, who knows?) A good preschool program focuses on the kids' needs, not the parents' needs.
My guy is 3, too, and in ours the sign-in is right inside the door, but we don't help with jackets, it's the child's responsibility and they can ask the teachers for help if needed. We say good-bye, give a hug, sign them in and leave. In my nephew's there was a common room for signing in, and the children went to their class on their own from there, about 10 -15 feet depending on which class they were in.
It gets disruptive with parents in the classroom, they'll walk around a parent signing-in and the kids lose their focus, and that takes time away from preschool as teachers get them to re-focus. If my child doesn't have to walk outside alone to get to class I'm OK with that, and there's a high fence around the entire perimeter even if he did, my concern would be inclement weather. I am probably one of those parents who would cause a security policy such as your preschool's because of my questioning of the staff, I want my child and the other students to always be safe. Teachers inform me of anything important at drop-off or pick-up, I don't need to seek them out, and we have quarterly conferences. And while we are free to be at the school at any time, we are not allowed to stay in the classroom with students present, unless a cleared TB test is on file with the office.
Preschoolers are capable of learning to do things on their own, it gives them self-esteem and independence.
I would be finding a different preschool.
I am all for ramping up security but it shouldn't come at the expense of my child's comfort level (that doesn't sound right but it is kind of what I am meaning of course some 'comforts' might have to be squashed but I am sure they could go about it a different way?) OR at the expense of my getting to know and be comfortable with the teacher that is in charge of taking care of my child.
At 3 I think *most* kids need and require a lil' 'settling in' time when starting preschool. I am not even sure I agree with the idea that at 3y/o they should be required to find there own way to their classrooms? Strange, this whole thing sounds very strange to me.
At our preschool we are allowed to drop in any time we want to just stand and watch the interaction between the children and the teachers...if you are not even allowed in the school at drop off are you not allowed in for just watching either?
I would NOT be comfortable with this, at all.
I wouldn't like it at all. 3 strikes me as way too young. There was a question earlier today about walking a kindergardener to class. A child in K is about 2x your child's age and lots of people said a child in K to class is nice. I guess we always used small preschools so I can't imagine this.
I'd be fine with it. I never had any need to see the teacher, and my kids would have been fine with walking on their own. In our pre-school we were required to walk the kids to their class because the teachers did not help with boots, jackets, snowpants etc. Teachers were busy at pick up and didn't really have time to chat with parents or anything. When my kids got to kindergarten parents were not allowed to walk the kids to class, but we have older students who walk the kinders.
Sounds terrible to me. I think regular schools have pushed parents away too much, now pre-schools? Both my kids went to preschool and I dropped both of them off at the door and said hello to the teacher. I picked both of them up at the door and heard a quick run down of their day. Of course it wasn't a free preschool but it still sounds overboard. I would wonder why they don't want parents that close to the classrooms, what is going on there and what don't they want you to see.
The first preschool my kids went to we just walked them in and brought them to their classroom. This was more of a daycare setting though.
When I changed preschools and went to the preschool through the school district that was an accredited program this was the norm. We were on a waiting list for a year. The preschool was relatively large; I would say at least 200 students. We would drop off our kids with the teacher in front of the school and each teacher would be assigned to 2 students to walk indoors. We had to have a sign in our window stating which classroom our child belonged to. I always expected to be in line for at least 20 minutes. I believe that at my kids’ preschool this was for organization as much as safety. Having that many parents parking and walking around the halls would get disorganized. I had no complaints because I knew my kids were in safe hands.
If you child is going to a smaller then I can’t understand why it would be that way. Is it a small or large preschool? Is it through the school district? Do you just drop her off in the front of the school and she walks by herself?
Go with your gut feeling.
Doesn't matter what we think. Its the rules of the free daycare.
At best, they are using faulty strategies for safety (the OPPOSITE of community-building, which would be the first step in creating a safe environment for kids). At worst, it sounds fishy. Are they licensed? By whom? I would be inclined to find out and look at the regs. Then I would find out if they are following them...
My guess is that the head of security is just doing her job, and that you might get further if you speak with someone in charge of programming (i.e. Director/Principal), as that person likely has more training in child development. Hopefully that person also has more of an investment in maintaining positive relationships with families.
If you do not get satisfaction, I hope that you will explore other financing options to make it possible for you to bring your child somewhere else. These early years are crucial and your child deserves to be in a warm, positive environment as she continues to learn and grow.
Best of luck.
When my now 15 year old daughter went to preschool at age 2 years 9 monts I went to the class room with her for the first day and stayed the whole class time (about 3 hours I believe - half day twice a week). Subsequent days I would leave about half an hour earlier, until I was just getting her settled in the class with whatever she wanted to pay with and told her I would be sitting in the hall. I only actually sat in the hall for about 20 minutes since she became quit comfortable in the class room. But there were other kids who would barely glance back at their mothers and dash in to play and had no problems. So I think it depends more on how sensitive your child it.
