Posted on June 22, 2024, | Leave a comment
It has been brought to my attention lately about what constitutes a quality program. Substance vs. Fluff. Perception vs. Reality. As a parent of a child who is looking for a good program in which to put your child, the question is “How do I recognize a quality program? Because really, you can tell if it’s a bad program easily but it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between good and really good.
We tell the parents that having a lot of “stuff” coming home everyday does not mean that the program is meeting that quality marker. Have you ever been inundated with busy work? Is it always good? Just because your child cranks out a bunch of papers or artwork and brings them home doesn’t mean that what was done in the classroom was beneficial to your child. Just because you can hang their beautiful artwork on the wall or are sent a picture of your child holding a paper flower doesn’t mean that something worth while was happening in the classroom.
When our accreditation agencies and the Early Learning Coalitions come around to check on how our school is doing, over 80% of what they are looking for is interaction with the children. Teacher/child interaction.
So, here are some things that I believe make a program one of quality. I welcome you to come and check out our school and see how we measure up.
1.How does the staff greet you?
2.How much communication is going on between teacher and child and child to child.
3.How much exploring of their environment is allowed.
4. When you walk in the child’s classroom do you get a positive feeling about what is happening?
5. Are the teachers friendly with one another?.
6. As the children explore different mediums, (ie. paint, play doh, exploration table) is the child always directed by a teacher or allowed to explore on their own?
7. Do teachers and staff reach out to the parents through different forms of communication?
8. What are the ratios in the classroom?
9. Does the teacher show you that they love your child?
10. Is the administration transparent or are you left to wondering what’s going on?
And most of all… Does the staff show their enjoyment of life and their job? Come by our center and check us out! I’d love to give you a tour and show you around. Blessings!
Comments