Tag Archives: selecting a school

Mar 13 2012

Selecting a School for Kindergarten

Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony 2011

Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony 2011 (Photo credit: SFA Union City)

Today I read an article on parents camping out, in tents, to register their children for a top kindergarten in California.  Besides the obvious question: what makes this school is so much better than other surrounding schools, and how can this be addressed, it also raises the question: how do I know which kindergarten is right for my four-soon-to-be-five year old?

I have placed four children in primary through secondary school, as well as into college; and I have assisted in the selection of preschools, elementary schools, and middle schools for my grandchildren.  I have been on dozens of tours of schools and spoken with superintendents, teachers, principals, duty aids, and other parents.  There are some critical items to keep an eye out for when selecting a school for your kindergartener, but with the medias hyper-focus on reading and test scores you may be surprised how simple the most important features can be:

Children and adults feel welcomed in the class.

On the tour, does everyone you meet, from the principal to the teacher, to the duty aid make eye contact with you? This should speak volumes about the openness of the environment your child will be spending his time in.  If you do not get to at least wave to the principal, be concerned.  All the best schools my family has been to the principal took a minute to pop by.

Children have a program that is appropriate. This means teaching and materials make sense for the age and needs of all children.

My oldest grandson sat down on his first day of kindergarten and was instructed to: cut, color, reorder a letter train into the alphabet and then glue it to a trip.  Really?  That child was lucky to remember to keep his hands to himself in the car that morning… turns out upon further inquiry his teacher just moved to kindergarten after nine years teaching sixth grade. We found a class better suited for him.

Children have both quiet and active times in the program.

Wasn’t it just yesterday your little one was taking naps?  No really, yesterday.  If so, make sure that the structure of the program gives your child an appropriate amount of active and down time.  If you are faced with the half day versus full day choice, ask for a schedule of a typical day for each.  You might be surprised to see reading/rest time in a full day schedule, but maybe that’s just what your child needs.

Children have plenty of supplies and materials. There are enough available for the number of children in the class.

On your tour, when you see the classroom, is it well supplied? At the beginning of the year where we live, teachers and parents alike contribute to classroom supplies, but if those supplies are too lean in the spring and not replenished (and your tour is the perfect time for a little private-eye work), you may have a problem with parent involvement or teacher communication.  On the other hand, if the coffer runneth over, your school probably has great parents who care about the environment you child will be learning in and a teacher who speaks to them regularly about the classroom needs.

Children have a class program that supports the needs and abilities for all children.

One of my grandchildren had a hearing impaired child in his class starting in kindergarten.  Everytime they learned a vocabulary word, they also learned the accompanying sign.  By the end of the year, there were some very fluent ASL five and six-year olds in Peoria.  This continued for every year, and children rotated through, so this little girl had a very healthy and talkative friend set by the time she hit second grade.  You never saw so much  silence as at the first grade Thanksgiving picnic.  But it was wonderful!  How does the school you are considering create a supportive learning environment for all the children?

The teacher manages regular childhood behaviors, like sharing and taking turns, so children feel safe and included.

It is very important that social graces extend from your house to school and back again. In my opinion, school is as much for learning social skills as it is for learning math.  But you cannot enforce good manners when you are not present.  Does the teacher have similar values that you have and is she willing to gently enforce them?  Is social development a part of her lesson plan?

The teacher supports parent involvement in the class.

The teacher shares with parents what is happening at school. The teacher and family work together to solve problems.  Communication is key!  A great way to tell if the teacher welcome parent involvement is to ask about how she uses volunteers.  You do not need to sign up for every class party, field trip, art project, or bulletin board design, but knowing that you would be welcomed to do so lets you know the teacher is open about what happens in the room.

In school house rock fashion, if you find yourself taking the conjunction junction to a tent on the grass in a parent-parody of the Occupy Kindergarten Movement, best of luck to selecting the best program for your child.  And if you  have a tip I’ve left off the list, add it below for others to see! 

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