This is a fitting time to let everyone know that I will be handing my responsibilities with Massachusetts Preschool.org to several of our other volunteers.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of our community.  I have found that be it a family in Shanghai looking for a preschool for their son upon relocation to Boston, to local grandparents rejoicing at the benefits preschool has afforded their grand children, we are all far more alike than different.  We can disagree on so much, but oddly enough, everyone values the experience of a high quality preschool education.  While many of us have not had the good fortune of a quality preschool experience, without exception, be it the most cynical politician or steadfast home-schooler, once one experiences the rewards of a great preschool education, all are converted and insist on the best from that point forward.  Its a virtuous cycle that we only need to prime with hard work now. 

Keep insisting on the very best for your children.  I believe, (actually I know), parents have the ability to improve early childhood education far more than any policy, politician or even budget initiative can.  Parents, by insisting on the best, can create market pressure that forces all preschools to improve.  Everyone wants high quality preschool - insisting upon it will make it happen for everyone.  Educate yourself.  Research, then insist on the best. Demand continuous improvement.  Don’t settle for the status quo.  Keep asking your preschool teachers how they will improve next year - even if this year was great.  Your children, our future, deserve the best.

Darby

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A recent e-mail told a story in which a 3 year old spilled paint on himself and the floor of a national chain preschool.  This young boy was called a “bad boy” and his favorite security blanket was taken from him “until he learned his lesson”.  Needless to say, this on its face seems excessive particularly for what well may have been an accident.  But let’s assume that the spilling of the paint was an attempt to intentionally act out - is this an appropriate response?  Obviously not.  This type of punitive action is designed to coerce and shame, not to teach and reinforce positive manifestations of what the child needed to express.  In short, how a teacher handles this kind of seemingly minor event can have long term repercussions for the child and in the short term is a strong signal as to the quality of the preschool teacher.

When interviewing preschools and preschool teachers, present them with a scenario such as the one above, even if your child is not the kind to act out.  The response you get will be telling.  While few preschool teachers will admit to shaming and scolding a child, lower quality teachers will stumble with this question and struggle to find a response.  Look for teachers that can confidently explain how they teach a child in moments like this, how they help the child express the feelings they are struggling with, and how they enable the child to act differently next time the emotion presents itself.  Be very cautionous of teachers that segregate the child, reinforce their behavior by removing them from the class (except for extreme situations), and don’t actively listen to the child.  Run from teachers that raise their voices and talk about how they use their force of personality to control the students. 

Many parents fear bringing up the issue of how discipline is handled for fear of giving the impression that their child might be a behavior problem.  Indeed, in low quality preschools, this is how it might be interpreted.  The best preschools will understand that you are an educated parent that understands that even if their child is not the one with the problem, how problems are handled effects all the children in the class.  High quality preschool teachers appreciate this question and actually enjoy answering it because it gives them insights into you as the parent of a child they may be entrusted with.

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We respect all sides of this issue but have found that the differences between parents that can stay and parents that must leave are too great to resolve in this forum.

Please use the contact page if you would like to express your feelings but please do not ask us to rely messages to the board of this school. 

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While no one believes this is a good experience for children, including those making the decisions, other considerations are likely in play.  The cost of fuel for school buses has risen dramatically in the past year for school systems across the nation.  Many school systems are responding by dramatically cutting bus service.  By not honoring school choice and combining it with restricted school bus service, Framingham could save money by forcing transportation costs to parents.  If presented with an hour long bus trip every day (as well as a return trip) many parent will opt to transport their children on their own.  If enough parents to this, they town will save significant amount of cash.

Unfortunately, the triple threat of restricted bus service, cuts from full day kindergarten to half-day kindergarten and not honoring school choice will be a devastating blow to many families.  But more importantly, our greatest investment in the future, our children will be undermined and distressed.

Hopefully this triple threat will not materialize - but parents of kindergarten aged children should plan for the worst and start making alternative arrangements now. 

More to come.

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Framingham residents - are you sitting down?  It is distinctly possible that the city will be forced to dramatically cut the number of full day kindergarten seats available to Framingham children.  The result - parents of kindergarten age children that expected to have full day kindergarten will only have half day kindergarten at best.  The alternative - dramatically increase fees for attending kindergarten.

There are more than 600 kindergarten age children in Framingham - so either way - this decision is going to be painful.  What to do about the Framingham kindergarten decisions?  Hedge your bet.  Hope for a miracle from the city, but plan on a disaster.  Make alternative arrangements now.  If you need after school care - assuming you only get half day kindergarten - find a quality program now.  Contact private kindergartens if necessary to try to lock in a place just in case the decision goes against your child’s interests. 

We are continuing to research the crisis, lobbying local politicians, contacting kindergarten teachers and trying to find scholarships assuming the worst occurs.  Stay tuned.

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1. Be persistent.  Openings often become available in the summer as plans change and students shuffle from their second choice school to their first choice.  Call every week to check.  Be nice - but persistent.
2. Let the school director and teachers know that their school is the “perfect” fit for your child.  The reality is that waiting lists at many preschools and kindergartens are not formal “first-come, first-serve lists”.  Its not fair - but teachers often influence the choice of how to fill openings by selecting children that will benefit most from their program.
3. Do not attempt to “buy your way in”.  Any preschool or kindergarten that accepts a donation in return for admission is simply put - unethical.  This demonstrates a lack of principles that your child will someday find themselves on the wrong side of.
4. As for a commitment to be told if any openings become available after the school year begins.  After classes start, teachers often forget about filling openings.  You need to remind them that your child is waiting.
5. Speak with the director of the programs and ask for a recommendation for an alternative preschool or kindergarten program.  High quality preschool directors tend to know each other and have relationships that can work in your favor.  High quality preschools are less interested in competition and more focused on cooperation to benefit children. 
6. Did we mention - call every week - all summer long!

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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 to actually cut back on preschool and kindergarten program despite the overwhelming evidence of its economic benefits.

Unfortunately, our representative have filed more than 1,500 different to this year’s budget and the six key amendments that would support out children run the risk of getting lost in the shuffle.  The six key admendments impacting our children are:

• Amendment #1478 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Haddad) – Universal Pre-Kindergarten
• Amendment #543 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Kane) – Head Start
• Amendment #1283 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Cabral) – Full-Day Kindergarten
• Amendment #779 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Wolf) – Early Educators Scholarship
• Amendment #1355 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Story) – Professional Development
• Amendment #318 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Binienda) – Rate Reserve

We recognize that taxpayers - particular in times of economic downturns hate to invest in the future.  The Early Educators Scholarship and Professional Development admendments are clear investments in the future of our ability to sustain early childhood education.  However, the other admendments directly impact on our children now.  Speaker DiMasi has specifically targeted our children for cuts because he repeatedly demonstates that fails to understand the human and economic benefits of early childhood education. 

Take action now.  Contact your representatives here. You don’t need to know their addresses or even names - the website will direct your message for you.

But take one more step.  Call Speaker DiMasi at 617 722-2500 or e-mail him at 
Rep.SalvatoreDiMasi@Hou.State.MA.US and insist that he invest in our children and focus his cutting on the 100+ admendments that only benefit a tiny percentage of individuals in the short term.

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Essentially there are early birds - those parents that take action to lock in a place in a quality preschool in January.  The second group are those parents that either didn’t get a spot in their preferred preschool or kindergarten and therefore start looking again, and those parents that didn’t start looking for preschool arrangements in the fall until the first signs of spring start to show themselves.

Knowing this, if you haven’t found a quality preschool yet - act now.  If you wait until May and June, you will be competing with a large pool of parents that will have the effect of limiting your choices.  While September seems way off - you are not too late to find the perfect preschool for your child.

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Second, a quality preschool teacher understands how to avoid and diffuse power struggles.  In fact, many children bring their unresolved power struggles from home with them to the classroom along with their backpack.  A quality preschool teacher recognizes that entering into or fostering power struggles at school both undermines the child’s early childhood education as well as sets a negative tone for future academic environments.  If your child comes away from preschool with the sense that school is about exerting power and that they are on the weaker side of that power equation, when they start feeling powerful in high school, this residual problem will become a large and daunting problem for both you and your child.  Observe your child’s preschool teacher and determine how they manage the classroom.  If they enter into and exert commanding power over your child - find another preschool.  One great why of detecting this is to ask how they handle disruptions by children.  If the answer is that the child needs to sit in a “time out” chair - that’s a clear sign of a power-oriented person - not a quality preschool teacher.

So how does a quality preschool teacher lead the education of our children without the tools that many  parents tend to use everyday?  Choice is the answer.  Quality preschool teachers offer children choices and help them establish their autonomy and self-confidence by teaching them how to make choices and take responsibility for them.  Quality preschool teachers have always used “choices” to help children develop.  Its unfortunate that “responsible choices” has only recently become the mantra of high school educators.

Watch for these factors and your are sure to be able to spot a quality preschool teacher and as important, a poor preschool teacher.  A quality preschool program will only employ quality teachers so don’t cross your fingers and hope that you child is assigned to a particular preschool teacher.  Look for a program that takes the chance out of this equation - both you and your child deserve more than luck.

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Think about it.  What is the “result” of a preschool teacher’s everyday effort?  Its the success, growth, happiness and confidence of your child.  So a preschool that doesn’t regularly assess the success, growth, happiness and confidence of your child is equivalent to a person that continues to use the same mechanic even through they are never able to fix the car.  Unfortunately, many preschools do not conduct regular self-assessments.  These preschoolshave themselves stopped learning and cling to a particular curriculum like dogma.  “Tried and true” is extraordinarily valuable but you only know that a curriculum is still “true” if you assess it regularly.  The only way to assess its “true-ness” is to assess the benefits it provides your child.

Many preschoolswill “assess” their curriculum against other curriculum put forward by accrediting agencies or other schools.  But this is the same as assuming that your mechanic can fix your Toyota simply because they can fix Chevys.  It might seem reasonable as a place to start the assessment - but unless the preschool assesses the results of the curriculum and its benefit for your child - they are ignoring that the Toyota still doesn’t run. 

When evaluating preschools, ask the teachers and administrators about how they conduct self-assessments.  If you get the deer-in-the-headlights response; find another school.  If you get a complex response that cites corporate quality assurance standards or a national accreditation process; dig further.  The only valid method for preschool and preschool teacher self-assessment is through assessment of the results demonstrated in the lives of the preschool’s students.

If your preschool does provide you with an assessment of your child that you believe is not consistent with your assessment - challenge the school as to how the preschool is going to address your child’s “problem” in the curriculum and on a daily basis.  Other wise the preschool is acting as the mechanic that tells you that your car has a problem but doesn’t fix it.   Part of self-assessment is taking responsibility for improvement.  A preschool that doesn’t take responsibility for improvement of its own results and the benefits delivered to you and your child is a preschool that doesn’t actually understand their important role in your child’s life.

When evaluating schools for review on Massachusetts Preschools.org - this is an essential requirement.   It should be essential for you and your child too.

P.S.  This applies to public and private preschools as well as kindergarten programs too.  Don’t assume that public preschools conduct strong results-oriented assessments of the benefits they are providing your child.  A “report card” does not suffice as an indicator of a quality preschool or kindergarten program.  Quality preschool and kindergarten programs look at a “poor report card” and immediately assess - “what do we need to do to improve the education we are providing this child”.  Short of that, in most cases, the preschool or kindergarten is transferring blame for their own failure to your child. 

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