What should I ask when touring a Pre-K school?

Question

We are considering private, public and parochial.

Answer 1

What's the daily routine?
How many kids are in the class?
Is there an assistant in the class?
What it the parent participation policy?
Can you walk in and visit any time, unannounced?
Curriculum being used?
What can you expect the child to learn?
How is discipline handled?
How is communication handled - daily notes, are teachers available via email?
Observe classes, too. What is the feeling in the room? Are the kids happy? Do they respect the teacher and each other? Are the toys clean and in good shape? Do the adults in the room get along?
See if you can talk to some of the other parents, too.
What are the field trip policies?

Answer 2

1. Ask how about their ratio of teachers/children. For Pre-K it should be higher than 6 children to 1 adult.

2. If they are serving any foods find out what they are -- get a menu ahead of time.

3. Do they use a curriculum? My boys went to, and go to a private school and the Pre-K curriculum was A Beka.

4. What is the age of the teachers? -- if they are all teenagers and under 20 I'd consider another place.

5. Is the facility clean? Look in the corners of the floor and ceiling; look at the toilets and sinks in the bathrooms -- this will give you a good indication of the importance they put on cleanliness.

6. What sort of "play" facilities do they have?

7. What is the proportion of the size of the roooms to the number of children in the room.

If you compare all the places you tour against the 7 criteria above you should be able to determine which is best.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

ask how meals are prepared, what they consist of, how they discipline the kids, what their lice policies are and how often they check the kids, if all the teachers are certified....