Massachusetts Preschools

How to find a quality preschool is a challenge all parents face.  Discerninga quality preschool from a “daycare” or low quality school can often be a challenge because as the cliche goes - you can’t tell a book by its cover.  We are always searching for measures of quality and one of the best, and […]

Read Full Post »

“I’ve found the perfect school for my son - but they have a waiting list.  What do I do.”  This is one of the most common questions we receive on MassachusettsPreschools.org but our answer is far from adequate.  Sure we all wish we had found the perfect school earlier but the reality is that at […]

Read Full Post »

This year had the potential to be the year to undo the many years of neglect Massachusetts early childhood education and Massachusetts children endured under the Romney administration.
Governor Patrick made great strides and was prepared to undo the damage his predecessor inflicted upon our communities.  This damage was so bad, that many towns have been forced […]

Read Full Post »

Many parents sign up for preschools and kindergartens in January. However the majority wait until June. If you’ve missed the January opportunity, don’t wait any longer. Find the best preschool or kindergarten for your child and sign up now - before the May and June rush.

Read Full Post »

First, and perhaps the most telling, a quality preschool teacher never raises her voice in anger or losses patience with a child or the class.  While preschool teachers are not saints, quality preschool teachers know that letting children see their frustration hurts both the children and their own ability to teach.  Beware of a preschool teacher […]

Read Full Post »

“How do I know I am picking the best preschool for my child?” is the most common question we receive.  It seems hard to know and many of us are racked with self-doubt.  But think about how you make decisions everyday both at home and on the job.  You do your best and evaluate the […]

Read Full Post »

The Goddard School has requested and has received preliminary approval for a grant of taxpayer money to support their for-profit franchise in Auburn Massachusetts. The Goddard School is taking advantage of a state loophole that allows for-profits preschools and child care facilities to invest in quality. The grants were intended to support state early childhood education infrastructure but Goddard School, a nationally franchised corporate “school” has requested public charity.

Read Full Post »

Mayor Menino has announced Boston’s Thrive in Five program. This is a fantastic step forward particularly given that Mr. Menino’s commitment is political rhetoric - he has backed it with a $3 million commitment and partnered with the United Way to make it happen.   The program mission is simple and summarized as:

Educate parents on the benefits of, […]

Read Full Post »

If your child meets your town’s kindergarten age cutoff there is a high probability that kindergarten will be a rewarding experience for them regardless of their skill development. The real difficulty lies in determining if your child is ready for kindergarten if the just miss the kindergarten age cutoff. If this is the case, seek out a fully accredited private kindergarten that will appropriately challenge your child and build on their skills and maturity rather than holding them back with another year of preschool. In the long run, your child will greatly benefit from the investment.

Read Full Post »

Once you leave the realm of “daycare” and daycares masquerading as preschools, the evaluation of a preschool really becomes an exercise in evaluating preschool teachers. To get right down to it, the teachers make the difference in quality preschools. You need to evaluate preschools based on your knowledge of your child - but how do you evaluate a preschool teacher? This article offers suggestions for evaluating preschool quality by addressing questions to preschool teachers.

Read Full Post »

The phrase “learning through play” is so prevalent in the preschool nomenclature it is easy to dismiss. So many preschools taut that their students “learn through play” that many of us dismiss it as marketing hyperbole. This article discusses recent research that demonstrates that genuine “learning through play” is essential and the lack of this valuable technique may account for rising rates of AD/HD and other academic problems.

Read Full Post »

Finding affordable quality preschool in Massachusetts is increasingly a challenge for many families. A lot of the criticism that we at Massachusetts Preschools receive is that our own search for quality preschool often turns up schools that are less than affordable for many. Several parents and members have pointed out that even the […]

Read Full Post »

Research on the effects of student-to-teacher ratio on preschool quality and success of preschool children is discussed.

Read Full Post »

After yesterday’s post we received several e-mails as you might imagine. Turns out that many of our readers are Republician and thought that our characterization of McCain and Huckabee’s positions lacked depth. It admittedly does - we simply reported how AP has characterized the candidates position. In fairness, we will follow up […]

Read Full Post »

Many of the criticisms we receive are that high quality preschool in Massachusetts is simply too expensive. We all agree. The public school system is grossly underfunded, No Child Left Behind has actually eroded quality public preschool programs and the economics of running a private preschool are so poor that most private schools […]

Read Full Post »