Berkeley Parents Network: Logistics of Starting the Preschool Search

Berkeley Parents Network

Logistics of Starting the Preschool Search

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > School & Preschool > Preschool > Logistics of Starting the Preschool Search

Where do I start?
How to think about this whole thing?

Where do I start?

June 2004

My husband and I are interested in starting to look for a preschool for our daughter. I know that the NPN has a guide with lots of information about lots of preschools, including things to ask and look for. We have already been contemplating issues of academic vs play-based, etc. My question is really about logistics of the search.

I would imagine the first step is to call the preschool. At that point though, I don't know what to expect. I can't imagine that every parent who calls with vague interest in a preschool gets to visit/tour/speak with teachers/interview the director, etc. that I would want to do when really interested in a school. So is there some kind of initial ''phone interview'' and with whom could I expect that to be, probably not the person who initially answers the phone? If we think we would really be interested in a school, what can we expect as far as a visit-just a time to drop in? Whom should we expect to be able to speak with? And what about wait lists? We are looking for next fall so do we do our touring/interviewing etc now or when we make our way through a wait list? Will those schools with waiting lists usually allow you to tour if there is a long one? What about deposits? How often is that required and when is it expected?

As you can tell, I'm feeling pretty awkward about getting started with this. Do people feel that they got considerably ''better'' as they went, like with job interviews? For example, should we start with a school we are less interested in? Any advice will be appreciated.

confused toddler mom

The preschool searching logistics is really pretty simple and straight foward. The part that makes it too complicated is one's own confusion and indecision about what they want in a preschool. The Bay Area is so diverse that your choices for schools are endless. The first thing you need to do is narrow down your choices. The NPN booklet if exremeley helpful, a great way to begin. So if you haven't gotten one, get one right away. Once you have an idea of what schools you might be interested in, call them up! Tell them you are interested in the preschool and would like more information and set up a time to come and visit. Each and every preschool has their own way of handling interested parents. The school will tell you exactly what you need to know. Some schools will send you a brochure first and then have you call them to schedule a tour if you are still interested. Some schools give individual tours, some only group tours. Some actually put you on a waiting list for a tour. And of course some schools will tell you that they are already full. Some schools have an annual ''Open House'' and use that day for interested parents to sign up for tours or be put on a waiting lists for possible enrollment. Definitely go to an Open House if the preschool you are interested in is planning on having one. Sometimes preschool waiting lists fill up on the day of their Open House! When you tour a school or go to an Open House, that is your best chance to talk to teachers, or the director if a school has one. Bring all your questions with you when you visit. Some schools may set up individual ''interviews'', but most don't. Again, it all depends on the school.

I think that many parents here in the Bay Area tend to make the preschool search too complicated and stressful, often treating it like they are competing to get their child into the right college. There seems to be this prevailing sense that there are ''good'' preschools and then there are ''great'' preschools, and that somehow we as educated parents must put our child in the very best preschool or else our child will be at a disatvantage somehow. This kind of perspective has spread through out the community and has created a sense of confusion and ''panic'' among so many parents who are new to the preschool searching process. Thus making it difficult for new parents to make decisions for fear they may make the ''wrong'' choice. My best advice is to try to keep it all in perspective, and keep it simple. Afterall, it is only preschool! Laurey

Hello, I'd recommend you start your search for preschools NOW, wait no longer! Many schools do fill and have waitlists by the winter or spring before their fall ''start'' dates. However, although there are ''waitlists'', you may still be able to enroll you child at that particular school, because by now, many parents have their children enrolled in alternative schools, so a waitlist may not be as long as it appears. Talk to friends and neighbors in the area with kids who were recently in preschool, see what schools they liked. Start investigating schools in your area to decide what type of program you are comfortable with for your child -- play based, montessori, co-op. It is very important that you have a connection with and respect for the program director and the teachers working with your child. Do they respect your child's needs? Are they responsive to your child? Do they take the time to get to know your child on a personal level so that your child feels important? How does the school deal with conflict between children (which preschoolers are learning how to do on a daily basis)? Is conflict intervention consistent and empowering for your child (harder to do in a co- op school where parents teacher). Do the children seem happy and involved in activities at school? Is the environment peaceful when you visit or are there unresolved outbursts occurring? Is the facility to your liking and safe? Will your child have the structure/freedom he/she requires based on her personality? What is the teacher/child ratio? And if your child has a fall birthday, you may want to inquire about the school's pre-k program.

Get on the phone and ask the director the questions you can. Arrange a visit, you will know which schools are definite matches for you and your child and others are not. I have personally found that the most important match point is the director's philosopy and respect for each individual child and family. You don't want your child to feel alone at school each day. This is the beginning of her schooling experience. If you cannot find a school in your neighborhood to your liking, be sure to look a few miles further out, for a good preschool match for your child is critical for future happiness, confidence and schooling success.

It's a fun process, and a very important process. When you find a school you like, you'll know. It's very instinctive.

Good Luck! Happy preschooler mom who did her research

I was in your position a couple of years ago. I got the NPN guide, and was able to rule out most of the preschools in it. I didn't want a coop, and many of the schools were too far away. I started calling the remaining schools to go on a tour. (Most of them offer these at regularly scheduled times.)

However, I ended up finding the preschool that my child attends by asking my neighbors, friends, and other moms I met at the park and Gymboree. I toured 3 schools and chose one that a neighbor was sending her child to. My second choice was one that a friend sent her kids to. I was really busy with work and pregnant with #2 while making this decision. I felt guilty about it, but reasoned that these other people had visited tons of schools before choosing the ones they did. In short, if you can find other people who seem ''like you'' in terms of how they are raising their kids, you can use their legwork! happy with our choice

My husband and I went through great pains when trying to find daycare for our first child (she's now 6). We started our search by getting a list of options from bananas. We were pretty sure we wanted a small family daycare environment so we started there. There was also a lot of talk at the time about the attributes of a 'high quality' daycare center. We went to a website which escapes me now, but you can get similar info from any number of sources. (Lots of different art on the walls, living things like plants and animals, stable staffing so the kids can bond with their teachers, etc) We created a matrix and then started calling and visiting. Some places were eliminated after the initial phone call, others after the visit. As we worked our way through the list of places, we constantly refined the criteria, realizing that some things just naturally worked themselves into every discussion we had after a visit. We tried to used a five point scale to force ourselves to be objective. Once we were done, we realized that there was a broad range within the family daycare environment so we decided to look at a traditional preschool too, just to understand the differences. We ended up going with a family daycare center and loving it. We were really pleased with the process and convinced that we had made a good choice based on a sound evaluation that included lots of 'gut instinct'. dl

When I was looking for preschools, being the anal person I can sometime be, I made up a list of ''interview'' questions on the computer and filled one out for each place I went. I starred those items that I needed to ask over the phone that may have ruled out the place altogether (can they accomodate a vegetarian child, what are the hours, how much does it cost, are a few that come to mind). So I pre-screened them. Then if it worked, I asked if I could come see the place. Then we would schedule a tour, I'd ask all the questions at that time and fill out my little list. Most places would give me their literature and an application at that time.

Now some places do tours on a regular schedule, others are less formal. One place (the Duck Pond) actually makes you pay them an application fee before you even get a tour when you fill out your application. I always thought that was weird myself; its not the norm. When I was looking it was almost always the director that took me around (these were not big preschools).

As far as getting in, some do first come first serve, others select you. Each place is different and you just have to ask!

Good luck. Hilary

How to think about this whole thing?

July 2002

My husband and I are starting to think about preschools for our daughter. I have contacted NPN about its preschool directory and info session, but what I really need at this stage is some advice on the very first step in the process -- that ''mental conversation'' about what we're looking for. What questions did you ask yourself when trying to define what you were looking for in a preschool? What do you think are the most important considerations in selecting a preschool? (Maybe something you didn't give much thought to originally has turned out to be really important).

Please note that I'm not asking for specific shool recommendations -- just asking HOW to think about this whole thing. Thank you very much! Sarah

P.S. I notice some common terms (such as ''play-based'' and ''developmental'') in the newsletters, but the I don't understand their definitions/differences - so if some kind soul would give me the run-down on that, too, I'd really appreciate it. :)

It has been a long time since my kids have been in preschool (they are now 13 and 16), but I spent many years as membership chair of a co-op preschool, and now teach first grade, so I have lots of opinions about what you might want to think about as you begin looking at your options.

One of the first choices you may want to make is whether you want to get involved in a co-op preschool, and this will probably reflect your own personal situation (are you working; do you look at preschool primarily as childcare; do you want to be part of your child's education, or do you prefer to leave that to the ''experts''). I chose a co-op preschool because I had stopped working in order to be home with my daughter, and I wanted to be part of a community of parents who were involved in preschool education. I liked the fact that my daughter would be able to be with lots of her peer's parents, and that the preschool situation would be somewhat like the experience kids used to have in neighborhoods--a bunch of children playing with lots of parents around supervising. In fact, we are still connected to some of the families we went to preschool with, and they still feel like neighbors and family.

In addition to looking for a co-op, I purposely looked for a ''play-based'' program. I wanted a situation in which my child could make choices about what interested her, and would not be required to follow any preset curriculum. If she chose to play outside in the sandbox all day, she could do that. If she wanted to be inside being read to, that would happen too. I looked for a school that provided lots of options for kids, a wide variety of equipment, a low adult/child ratio, and most importantly, respected each child's autonomy in decision-making.

I don't think preschoolers need to be ''taught'' academics, and I would be very leery of schools that focus on pre-reading, pre-math, etc. Your child has the rest of his/her life to spend on academic, paper/pencil kinds of learning. The ''work'' of preschoolers is play; the play provides a foundation for the rest of their education.

In this context, pre-reading skills might include being read to (a ''good'' preschool, in my opinion, should always have someone available to read to children), and imaginative play (dress-up, puppet theater, etc). Pre-math skills would include building with blocks, puzzles, water play, legos, cooking, measuring, etc. Pre-writing skills could include play-dough, crayons, rubber-stamps, puzzles, dictating stories, etc.

Look for an environment that includes animals, cooking, musical instruments, singing, playground equipment, wheeled toys, etc. The ''stuff'' needn't be fancy, but it should be accessible and kids should be actively involved.

The preschool my kids attended had a ''circle time'' every day which kids could join or not as they chose. A few parents worried that if their children didn't go to circle time in preschool they wouldn't be able to behave appropriately when the time came for them to attend kindergarten. In my experience, both with my own children and the many students I have taught over the years, this was never a problem. In fact, most of these kids were the most ready for kindergarten, and quickly adapted to new behavioral expectations.

I feel very strongly that kids need the opportunity to be kids for as long as possible, and that frequently they are being pushed too quickly into formalized school situations for the convenience of adults. I could go on and on; I hope this gives you some ideas to help guide you on your explorations. Good luck! Judy

The group that puts out that listing of pre-schools has also put on an annual event, I think in the fall, which would answer a lot of your questions. You will surely see a posting for the event on the announcements newsletter. Or ask them when you call about the book. They have people from various schools discuss monteressori vs. play-based, etc. The program helped me a lot. After that, I think it's a matter of visiting a few schools to see what these concepts look like in action. mary

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