Preschool

We are looking to eventually move Tabby from her home daycare to a more socially diverse environment. We are limited by our jobs … if we want her in an all-day program there are only so many options available to us. Her current sitter would shuttle her back and forth to a normal 2-4 hour preschool program nearby, but this gets to be pretty pricey, paying for both a sitter and preschool. It is much more economical to send her to an all-day program. Daycare with ABCs as it were.

Montessori was so expensive it made me choke. Primrose was a bit less so, but not ideal still. Ditto Kindercare. What we had placed our hopes on was our public schools' preschool program. It comes with high accolades from many. Most of their programs are just a few hours, but there are a couple of locations that offer all-day programs for very reasonable sums. So we called to inquire about a few particulars and scheduled a tour. As bad luck would have it, it snowed the day of our tour and the road I would have primarily used to get from work to the school was a parking lot, so we rescheduled.

This is where things get annoying. The first person we had talked to was professional and answered our questions with ease and grace. She seemed happy to show us around and encouraged us to bring Tabby. She said that we could put her on the waiting list now (it is a fairly long waiting list) and start her in the program when she turns three (March 2010).

The new person we contacted (the asst. director) could barely be bothered to reschedule our tour. When we got there she was nowhere to be found (indeed there was no one at the front desk) and we waited around for about 5 minutes before finding someone to locate her. She handed us a couple of pre-printed sheets and rambled about the curriculum (not particulars … just rambling … basically what I had already found out from the website). I asked a couple of questions that were more or less ignored (did she not hear me? did she not know?) and she showed us a classroom. She pointed out all the obvious features (stations, circle space, cubbies, etc.) and I asked questions about class size, schedule, class make-up, etc. Throughout the whole process she seemed like she could hardly be bothered going through the motions.

Then finally, she told us to come back in January to put her name on the waiting list. We told her we were under the impression that we could do that immediately so that there would be space when she is chronologically ready to come to school. No, says she, we must wait until Jan because that is when the enrollment starts for the year. Stars for when I ask? Can we start her in March or must she start at the new “school year” in August?? She cannot figure this out. She is not “good with math” she says. Enrollment starts in January. A child must be turning 3 by October to enroll … but to start when? She has no idea.

We never did get an answer. Aside from our incredibly lackluster guide, the program seemed about like most other preschool programs we've seen (how many ways are there to do ABCs and 123s?) and taking her out of the experience, I think it would be a nice place for Tabby. But I have to question any school that would hire this bottom feeder. I guess I'll call back and talk to the director and go from there.