What does PreK Look Like in DCPS?
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Anonymous
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What does a typical day look like for your pre-kindergarten child—or, if you have experience from the last few years, how was it structured then?
I’m interested in understanding whether certain DCPS schools are leaning toward a more rote, academic model for preschoolers. After reviewing the math curriculum, I’m concerned that it may not be as hands-on or developmentally appropriate as I’d hope. I’m not comfortable with my child spending their day engaged primarily in lectures—however “playful” they may be—or confined to small group activities that feel more like lessons than exploration. There’s substantial research demonstrating that developmentally inappropriate methods can have a negative impact by the time children reach fourth grade. While I plan to speak with schools directly to learn more about their Pre-K schedules, I’m aware that some may simply tell parents what they want to hear or even highlight approaches that inadvertently contradict current best practices. To be clear, I’m not opposed to academic learning. However, at this age, learning should be play-based and aligned with what we know works well for young children. Anything else seems to disregard the evidence on early childhood education’s most effective, engaging, and supportive methods. I am moving but what would have been my neighborhood school only had 70 minutes of play, including recess. Their academic scores were also not that great to boast about having kids as young as 3 reading… |
Anonymous
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What a fancy essay you have written here.
Some kids read at 3 regardless of their school's approach and school quality. Some kids wouldn't at even the best school regardless of the approach. DCPS schools have a choice of certain curricula. Is there a particular curriculum you dislike? You seem to have confused "play-based" instruction with free play recess. They aren't the same thing and aren't intended to be. I doubt anyone is giving lectures to 3 year olds. |
Anonymous
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Well, my kid had a wonderful 6 months in PK3 at a DCPS elementary...then Covid hit and that was that. I can't remember much about it other than his teacher was great and he loved it. It's PK3, it's play based. It was a title one school so there were 16 kids in his class.
Honestly, you sound pretty high strung. It's PK, they play, they learn the alphabet, how to count to 10, then 20, then more. They learn sounds and syllables. That's it. Breathe. It's where they go while you go to work. If you want whatever else, pay for a private. |
Anonymous
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Keep your kid in private until you want them to start reading and writing. Prk4 is not bad, it's the K that is hard.
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Anonymous
This. I've sent two kids through DCPS PK, they absolutely loved it and most of their day was playing at centers inside (building center, play kitchen, etc) and playing outside, with a bit of drawing and writing and counting and then a long nap. Like, really long nap (90 minutes). K is when it's gets really serious and they have to sit and work. |
Anonymous
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At our DCPS pre-K, the teachers gently pointed out to the parents that small children can't just run around outside on the playground for hours. They get overtired, and they start to fight over play equipment.
The kids did much better if they changed activities a lot, which they did. The kids did a lot of structured play: art, themed play ("pretend we are in a pet shop"), science in the garden. The kids had daily opportunities to write, if they could, so many learned. The DCPS preschool instructors, veterans with education degrees, seemed to understand small children better than the very young people teaching at a lot of the local private preschools. My fall birthday kid was in a private NAEYC preschool before DCPS, and I felt as if DCPS was a step up. I met several other parents who felt the same. |
Anonymous
No, I have equated it to play. Free-play meaning child-directed and teacher supported. Building Blocks Math is a curriculum all PK teachers must use. And funny, the research definitely does not show it’s ‘just PK.’ And we are also looking at privates, being a private pre-k does not automatically make it a good school. I will ask teachers, so far it seems other parents equate Pre-K to glorified babysitting… Not, high strung I’m simply curious what schools look like. Especially as a newer Black mom, in a city mostly failing Black children. |
Anonymous
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Okay, you're not high-strung, you're just writing a big-words essay at 6:19 AM about precisely what kind of preschool you think is best for everyone.
It sounds like you want a more play-based and child-led approach than you're going to get in DCPS. Yes, there's research, but DCPS has other considerations too. Like the feasibility of a truly child-led approach within DCPS' adult-child ratio, which is funding-driven. Like how much recess can each class have when the school has only one playground and 20+ classes. And the fact that not all parents feel as strongly about play-based as you do. Myself, I'm very up on the research literature through my job, but still felt that a hybrid play-based and direct instruction approach was perfect for my specific child. You need to understand that in the lottery it's unlikely you'll get a PK3 spot at a school with strong test scores in the upper grades. Possible but unlikely. |
Anonymous
| To qualify things though DC mostly isn’t failing Black Moms like you. DC is a tale of the top and bottom of the ladder and practically nobody in between. |
Anonymous
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My kid's day (this was at a Ward 5 Title I in 2016) was:
Circle time-- talk about what's on tap for the day, what day of the week it is, sing a song or two. Then they did the "play plan" which was a thing at the time-- they would "write" or do a picture of what they intended to do. Centers time-- they had the Tools of the Mind curriculum at the tunem where they have the classroom set up to play different scenarios such as restaurant. Specials-- music, art, PE, etc, either they walk or the teacher comes to them. Literacy-- the aide read aloud to some of them while others had more explicit phonics instruction in a small group with the teacher. A math activity of some sort such as a game where you count things or play with math manipulatives such as pattern blocks. Occasionally a field trip (they walked to a fire station) or a visiting performer in the school auditorium. Lunch, recess, nap (90 mins sleep or look at a book or quietly play on your cot) Closing circle which is just sort of a goodbye routine with a song. Personally I was fine with the direct instruction as my DD enjoyed it and made great progress in her early reading skills. I think you'll find not everyone is seeking as purely play-based a curriculum as you seem to be. |
Anonymous
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Look, you can't come in to DPCS expecting they'll do the "best practices" of the moment or be entirely research-based. They have a LOT of other factors, such as federal mandates, city laws and regs, budget limitations, physical space limitations, etc. You need to manage your expectations and remember that you get what you pay for (if you're lucky-- sometimes you don't even get that).
There are plenty of examples of school systems doing something they think is research-based and it ends up being a disaster and not having the expected result. (The math fiasco in San Francisco is a recent example.) DCPS isn't that quick to move with the ever-changing research and ebb and flow of trends. That can have very real pros and cons. |
Anonymous
| It sounds like you should find a Waldorf program in MD or VA. None of the schools, private/public/charter, are going to satisfy your standards. |
Anonymous
Waldorf is not child-led! It's weirdly controlling. |
Anonymous
| OP, is this because you think your child can't cope with being directed? |
Anonymous
I think PP confused Waldorf with Reggio. My kids did the latter in preschool and loved it. |