I’ve run into an issue that has been troubling me for some time now.  My daughter is enrolled in what I at one time considered the perfect pre-school program.  I’m a believer in the school’s philosophy, the location is perfect for my commute to and from work, the teachers have been good to her and she’s growing academically and socially.  What more can a parent ask for?

Well, it turns out – not all good things are meant to last.  This isn’t the first child care situation that my daughter has been in.  Prior to her current school she was taken care of by a wonderful woman in her home and by my awesome mother-in-law.   When we made the decision to move her to a formal school – it was a difficult decision – but the right one for us.

So now, my perfect pre-school isn’t so perfect anymore.  The little things that raised my eyebrows a year or so ago are slowly becoming irritants that are rubbing at me more and more.  There’s nothing awful going on – no abuse or neglect.  She’s doing wonderfully academically, but yet, there are just some things that aren’t working for me.

Mainly, I feel like the communication that I’ve been getting from the school about changes that are happening – just isn’t occurring in the way I’d expect.  There has been turn over of teachers and changes in classrooms that I haven’t been happy with.  I’m not so unhappy that I’m ready to pull her out today and look for another school, but I am ready to look.

It’s taken me a while to get here.  So I thought I would share what I’ve learned.

First, if you have anything that raises your eyebrows – make note of it.  If it happens again – talk to your program director about it and don’t take no for an answer.  You might not get the response you want, but you will feel better for having said something and, they will be aware of it.  Not to mention – you’ll learn how they handle it when you’re upset about something – that in itself is very telling and important information to have.

Secondly, talk to the other parents.  Sometimes I hear from parents that they don’t like to complain to other parents in the school their kids are in because they don’t know how the other parents will react.  As a reader of this blog – you know that I believe that other parents are there to help you – share with them what your issues are.  They might not agree – you’ll get a different perspective – or they might be having the same concerns.  Either way – you’ll learn something about their thoughts and maybe get a better feel for what’s going on.  (don’t forget to check the school’s rating here on PARENTise!)

Remember what made you enroll your child in the first place.  Was it the curriculum?  The teachers?  The diversity of students?  Are those things still in place?  Is what’s irritating you worth escalating or are the other issues more important to you?

If things are still bothering you – take a look at some other schools (even if you looked at them previously – things change and you won’t know until you visit).  Visiting other schools will give you a good benchmark for what goes on in other programs.  If possible talk to other parents about their kids programs – what do they like/not like?  Have they had similar issues like the one’s your having?

All of these things will help inform your decision – to stay or not to stay…take the information  you’ve gathered and look it over.  Talk to your family and your child – their opinion is really important too.

In the end – the decision is yours – good luck!