Toddler evaluation/assessment

[mrsbeachcat]

I've been looking into preschool for Bill next year at a local coop and they said part of the application is a home assessment and interview as well as some sort of toddler interview. I have no idea what to expect and was wondering if anyone has gone through the process could give me an idea of what goes on in one of these things? Like, for the home assessment are they going to look at Bill's bedroom and judge his toys? What sort of interview could they do on a 19 month old?
I will say that the process so far has already been weird and off putting. The application has an essay portion.

[wineandcake]

Ummm I don't even understand how there's an essay question. Do they judge your format and need references for your material used?

If the application is off putting, run while you still can.

[Deleted]

My friend was looking at a preschool that had those kinds of requirements. I wonder how much of that is child assessment and how much "family" assessment. Weeding out families that might not fit with their school

[ashiscute]

Feb 22, 2017 8:57:49 GMT -5 lawandorder said:

This feels real icky to me, TBH. The cynic in me thinks they are assessing toddlers to weed out kids with special needs, especially those that perhaps have not been identified by the family yet.

Do you know any families currently at the school that you can ask about the process?

+1 to this.

It's easy to say the kids at your school are all X ability if you make sure you don't take kids that won't be there yet.

My DD had to be assessed and evaluated to attend her preschool but it was developmental preschool. She needed to qualify. I've toured other schools and I've never heard of anything like that. DS's school doesn't require anything.

[mrsbeachcat]

Feb 22, 2017 8:57:49 GMT -5 lawandorder said:

This feels real icky to me, TBH. The cynic in me thinks they are assessing toddlers to weed out kids with special needs, especially those that perhaps have not been identified by the family yet.

Do you know any families currently at the school that you can ask about the process?

I don't know anyone there... but I'm wondering if they'd be willing to let me talk to some current families.

[mrsbeachcat]

Feb 22, 2017 8:57:49 GMT -5 lawandorder said:

This feels real icky to me, TBH. The cynic in me thinks they are assessing toddlers to weed out kids with special needs, especially those that perhaps have not been identified by the family yet.

Do you know any families currently at the school that you can ask about the process?

I don't know anyone there... but I'm wondering if they'd be willing to let me talk to some current families.

[mrsbeachcat]

Feb 22, 2017 8:22:04 GMT -5 @ceci8876 said:

My friend was looking at a preschool that had those kinds of requirements. I wonder how much of that is child assessment and how much "family" assessment. Weeding out families that might not fit with their school

That's a real possibility since it's a coop. If that's the case, I'll probably fail since I'm not that friendly. :-(

[Deleted]

Feb 22, 2017 11:23:15 GMT -5 mrsbeachcat said:

Feb 22, 2017 8:22:04 GMT -5 @ceci8876 said:

My friend was looking at a preschool that had those kinds of requirements. I wonder how much of that is child assessment and how much "family" assessment. Weeding out families that might not fit with their school

That's a real possibility since it's a coop. If that's the case, I'll probably fail since I'm not that friendly. :-(

I remember my friend saying how the director kept mentioning the professions of the parents. She's a psychologist, so I'm sure that was a check in the "are the parents professionals" box.

[lonegalathome]

Feb 22, 2017 11:20:28 GMT -5 mrsbeachcat said:

Feb 22, 2017 8:57:49 GMT -5 lawandorder said:

This feels real icky to me, TBH. The cynic in me thinks they are assessing toddlers to weed out kids with special needs, especially those that perhaps have not been identified by the family yet.

Do you know any families currently at the school that you can ask about the process?

I don't know anyone there... but I'm wondering if they'd be willing to let me talk to some current families.

If they wouldn't let you talk to a family that would be enough of a red flag for me to walk, err, run, the other direction.

[mrsbeachcat]

Feb 22, 2017 16:24:31 GMT -5 sharebear05 said:

mrsbeachcat how does a coop preschool work? Do you have to "volunteer" a certain number of hours? Just curious, I've only ever heard of coops for food, not a formal school setting.

Yeah, the one we're looking at requires the parents to work one day a week (4 hours). It also requires some meetings and maybe laundry? Stuff like that. Here's an example of what most of the coops require in our area.
arent Involvement: Parents must work one school day per week, and must provide a healthy snack for the school 4-10 times per year. They must also attend monthly parent meetings, contribute eight hours toward school maintenance, participate in fundraising activities, and choose a school "job" (gardening, librarian, etc.).

The big benefit for us is the price. Most of the preschools near us are about 30k a year and a coop is less than half that.

[italianmommy]

mrsbeachcat 30 THOUSAND A YEAR? GOOD LORD.

[mrsbeachcat]

Feb 22, 2017 17:38:41 GMT -5 italianmommy said:

mrsbeachcat 30 THOUSAND A YEAR? GOOD LORD.

My exact reaction.

[italianmommy]

Feb 22, 2017 17:48:35 GMT -5 @amc25 said:

Feb 22, 2017 17:38:41 GMT -5 italianmommy said:

mrsbeachcat 30 THOUSAND A YEAR? GOOD LORD.

Freaking high COL areas. I was looking ahead to preschool options for DS in the area where we're going to be moving soon, and the prices shut me down fast. There's no freaking way we'll be spending $1,500/month to send him to preschool several hours a day for a few days a week.

Even $1500 is crazy! That's my mortgage! I am so happy that we found our pocket of central Florida which has reasonable COL and just so happens to have a great school district. As a SAHM with a husband who works at Costco, it's even going to be hard making $400/mo preschool work. Thankfully, preschool for all 4yo Olds is free in FL, but obviously if we want her in a program sooner, we need to shell out $$$

[pixiepink24]

Another high COL here in the city. I can't afford most of it. But as I've said, public pre k is free and funded by the lottery here.

[Deleted]

My favorite daycare center would cost $1545/mo, for a full 5 days. This includes food. The lady with the pack n plays in the kitchen would cost $1200/mo for a full 5 days. Crazy

[amch8]

Feb 22, 2017 17:23:37 GMT -5 mrsbeachcat said:

Feb 22, 2017 16:24:31 GMT -5 sharebear05 said:

mrsbeachcat how does a coop preschool work? Do you have to "volunteer" a certain number of hours? Just curious, I've only ever heard of coops for food, not a formal school setting.

Yeah, the one we're looking at requires the parents to work one day a week (4 hours). It also requires some meetings and maybe laundry? Stuff like that. Here's an example of what most of the coops require in our area.
arent Involvement: Parents must work one school day per week, and must provide a healthy snack for the school 4-10 times per year. They must also attend monthly parent meetings, contribute eight hours toward school maintenance, participate in fundraising activities, and choose a school "job" (gardening, librarian, etc.).

The big benefit for us is the price. Most of the preschools near us are about 30k a year and a coop is less than half that.

OMG not even worth it. Take my money.

[pixiepink24]

Feb 22, 2017 20:10:31 GMT -5 @ceci8876 said:

My favorite daycare center would cost $1545/mo, for a full 5 days. This includes food. The lady with the pack n plays in the kitchen would cost $1200/mo for a full 5 days. Crazy

Shoot, I wish I made that! I watch J 50 hours a week and make way less than minimum wage. But I'm not licensed or anything. Clearly not a professional either.

The one I'm in love with up the road from me is $1500 a month too.

[rachydc]

High COL area here too. We pay just over $1500/mo for 5 full days a week all meals included. We've done this since 12 weeks. I don't know how the hell we stay afloat. Hence why I basically work 2 FT jobs :/

And this is your basic, no frills daycare/school/etc. there are no public or free options. There are higher cost ones and slightly lower cost but this is the most convenient to us in our daily commutes and is worth it in that sense. It's so ridiculous and unfair

[wells2010]

The thing with preK that I liked for my oldest was the fact that she was away from us. She was always home, either with me, her dad, or a sitter and didn't get much socialization outside of that. I thought it was most important for her to spend time without us, away from home. We looked into one coop that was about $200/month and decided against it. Now we pay $205/ month and any parent participation is voluntary.

Are there church-based programs near you that may be more affordable?

This school isn't giving me good vibes. It's reminding me of the modern family where they are looking to put lily in a school and think they are a shoe-in because they are a gay couple with a child of a different race.

[catladymeow]

Feb 22, 2017 21:48:35 GMT -5 rachydc said:

High COL area here too. We pay just over $1500/mo for 5 full days a week all meals included. We've done this since 12 weeks. I don't know how the hell we stay afloat. Hence why I basically work 2 FT jobs :/

And this is your basic, no frills daycare/school/etc. there are no public or free options. There are higher cost ones and slightly lower cost but this is the most convenient to us in our daily commutes and is worth it in that sense. It's so ridiculous and unfair

We are in a similar boat. Our daycare is over $1700/month which is typical for this city. Which is why we both have reasonable jobs and there's no way in hell we can buy a house.

[yl]

Feb 23, 2017 13:52:47 GMT -5 catladymeow said:

Feb 22, 2017 21:48:35 GMT -5 rachydc said:

High COL area here too. We pay just over $1500/mo for 5 full days a week all meals included. We've done this since 12 weeks. I don't know how the hell we stay afloat. Hence why I basically work 2 FT jobs :/

And this is your basic, no frills daycare/school/etc. there are no public or free options. There are higher cost ones and slightly lower cost but this is the most convenient to us in our daily commutes and is worth it in that sense. It's so ridiculous and unfair

We are in a similar boat. Our daycare is over $1700/month which is typical for this city. Which is why we both have reasonable jobs and there's no way in hell we can buy a house.

LOL same. It's so depressing to be almost 40 with 2 good, solid incomes and unable to buy a house. 

And $1500/month here for R's DC, which is why we only put him in for 2 days/week. (which is still $700/mo) We're lucky we have family for the other 3 days. 

[cincymama]

I'm surprised to find out that some of you have free public preschool and pre k. That is awesome. I was shocked to find out that you have to pay $3,000 a year for public full day kindergarten in our school district. And it is a lottery so not even a guarantee of getting in. Still blows my mind.

[catladymeow]

cincymama wow what happens if you dont win the kindergarten lottery? You just try again next year or do you go straight into grade 1? That's so nuts!

[cincymama]

Feb 24, 2017 6:25:04 GMT -5 catladymeow said:

cincymama wow what happens if you dont win the kindergarten lottery? You just try again next year or do you go straight into grade 1? That's so nuts!

They have free public half day kindergarten or you can do private kindergarten. I couldn't figure out how to make the half day public thing work though since I work full time and the school doesn't bus to our daycare for before/after care. Our daycare has a private kindergarten so we signed DS1 up for that next year.

[pixiepink24]

cincymama
That's crazy that some can't even get into full time public kindergarten!
The free PreK program here is for 4 year olds and it's not a full day, if I remember correctly.
The lottery also helps fund a scholarship for undergrad degrees if you are a GA resident with a 3.0 GPA. Basically, you can go to college IN STATE for free!!!

[ashiscute]

Feb 24, 2017 6:37:02 GMT -5 cincymama said:

Feb 24, 2017 6:25:04 GMT -5 catladymeow said:

cincymama wow what happens if you dont win the kindergarten lottery? You just try again next year or do you go straight into grade 1? That's so nuts!

They have free public half day kindergarten or you can do private kindergarten. I couldn't figure out how to make the half day public thing work though since I work full time and the school doesn't bus to our daycare for before/after care. Our daycare has a private kindergarten so we signed DS1 up for that next year.

I'm surprised they don't bus to your daycare. That's crazy! So many kids in DD's school go to after school care at quite a few different places. And there's a Y program at the school.

We don't have the option for full day here. I wish we did.

[cincymama]

Feb 24, 2017 9:37:37 GMT -5 ashiscute said:

Feb 24, 2017 6:37:02 GMT -5 cincymama said:

They have free public half day kindergarten or you can do private kindergarten. I couldn't figure out how to make the half day public thing work though since I work full time and the school doesn't bus to our daycare for before/after care. Our daycare has a private kindergarten so we signed DS1 up for that next year.

I'm surprised they don't bus to your daycare. That's crazy! So many kids in DD's school go to after school care at quite a few different places. And there's a Y program at the school.

We don't have the option for full day here. I wish we did.

I know right! I was shocked when I started researching kindergarten options. To make things even weirder the elementary he would go to is literally across the street from the daycare and they don't bus but the next school district over buses to the daycare. So I would have had to get private transportation to get him there and back each day. Makes no sense.

[lonegalathome]

We are half day K in our part of Ohio too. Really, its not even half day. Its 3 hours. And parents hate it, but there is no full time option. Our neighbor district does what cincymama,'s does - you can pay for full day but they only have limited spots.

[ncjulia12]

My mind is blown by all of you with half day or no kindergarten options. I thought full-day public school kindergarten was offered in all the states- even the ones where it is not legally required.