School for Friends

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The magic of that school was the former director. They’ve had quite a few teacher turnover as well so verdict is out!

Yep. It has a daycare vibe now. The staff quality has gone down.

Go away, anti-daycare troll.

I’m not anti daycare. But the program was excellent under Jim Clay and under the new administration it’s gone downhill. Sorry. Saying it’s a great school doesn’t make it so. You have to hire excellent, degreed teachers with deep experience in early childhood education, anti bias curriculum, project based and play based learning, and have a strong curriculum and lots of professional development. Jim did that. I do not see that anymore
You can say that without using “daycare vibe” as a so called insult. That’s the problem with what you said.

Nothing wrong with using ‘daycare vibe’.

You really don't see the issue with saying it has a "daycare vibe" when arguing staff quality has gone down?

Correct! Good preschools hire with prior early child development experience and college degrees. Daycare will hire anyone with babysitting experience. All of the new hires seem to have none of that. You go to daycare so they can care for your kids and you go to preschool so they can educate your kids (whether play based or not).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Correct! Good preschools hire with prior early child development experience and college degrees. Daycare will hire anyone with babysitting experience. All of the new hires seem to have none of that. You go to daycare so they can care for your kids and you go to preschool so they can educate your kids (whether play based or not).

Love the massive generalizations about child care providers set up to serve parents who WOH. DD attends a center where her teachers either have college degrees or are in the process of getting them. And the lead and assistant teachers are required to complete early childhood development coursework per MD state licensing requirements. The idea that a "daycare" couldn't possibly be providing any kind of education is just laughable.

[Anonymous]

I’m the PP. There’s a huge difference between daycare programs and high quality early childhood programs. Daycares often hire employees who have only Hs degrees, often lack higher education, and may, at most, have a CDA (and May only get it because they are required to if their school is NAEYC accredited). Turnover in these programs is extremely high. In contrast, high quality early childhood programs hire lead teachers with bachelor’s degrees or master’s degrees in early childhood education, often the assistants have a CDA and are pursuing a BS or higher degree, and they invest extensively in professional development that goes far beyond basics of how kids learn through play or health and safety basics or how to teach a particular curriculum but focuses on advanced teaching concepts in early childhood like scaffolding, anti bias education, the project approach, implementing Reggio Emilia environments, creating an inclusive environment, meaningful documentation, etc. Having worked in ECE and toured over three dozen preschools and daycares in the DMV I can tell you there are a small handful that fit into the latter category, and they are most commonly the lab schools at universities (Like the program at UMD which is incredible). The reason is that our government and society refuse to invest in early childhood in meaningful ways.

I’m not saying daycare is bad, or that kids don’t learn there. But there is a difference between a high quality ECE program like SFF was and a daycare. You can’t hire daycare workers from Bright Horizons with a couple years experience and a CDA and expect them to be as good of a teacher as a master’s prepared educator who had been in the field for 5, 10 or 20 years. Just calling a program an elite preschool or a high quality early childhood program doesn’t make it so. I know as parents we all want to believe our kids are getting the best education but honestly having seen some great and amazing schools I know personally my kid is not getting that — and it’s because we just can’t afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Correct! Good preschools hire with prior early child development experience and college degrees. Daycare will hire anyone with babysitting experience. All of the new hires seem to have none of that. You go to daycare so they can care for your kids and you go to preschool so they can educate your kids (whether play based or not).

Love the massive generalizations about child care providers set up to serve parents who WOH. DD attends a center where her teachers either have college degrees or are in the process of getting them. And the lead and assistant teachers are required to complete early childhood development coursework per MD state licensing requirements. The idea that a "daycare" couldn't possibly be providing any kind of education is just laughable.

Seriously. My daughter goes to a center that accommodates kids ranging from infants all the way through kindergarten (yes, they have a fully licensed kindergarten program). They are fully accredited and received 5 stars in MD's school rating system.

I seriously wonder what people think the distinctions between "daycare" and "preschool" are. It isn't hours, as you have a place like School for Friends that provides full-time care and yet is considered a preschool on here. It's not ownership structure (though many people on here think it is). Some argue is NAEYC accreditation, but there are Bright Horizons locations with NAEYC accreditation.

Honestly, the reality is there is no real distinction between daycare and preschool. The people who like to pretend there's a distinction tend to be the ones who like to think they send their kids to a superior place than others. They're haughty and pretentious people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the PP. There’s a huge difference between daycare programs and high quality early childhood programs. Daycares often hire employees who have only Hs degrees, often lack higher education, and may, at most, have a CDA (and May only get it because they are required to if their school is NAEYC accredited). Turnover in these programs is extremely high. In contrast, high quality early childhood programs hire lead teachers with bachelor’s degrees or master’s degrees in early childhood education, often the assistants have a CDA and are pursuing a BS or higher degree, and they invest extensively in professional development that goes far beyond basics of how kids learn through play or health and safety basics or how to teach a particular curriculum but focuses on advanced teaching concepts in early childhood like scaffolding, anti bias education, the project approach, implementing Reggio Emilia environments, creating an inclusive environment, meaningful documentation, etc. Having worked in ECE and toured over three dozen preschools and daycares in the DMV I can tell you there are a small handful that fit into the latter category, and they are most commonly the lab schools at universities (Like the program at UMD which is incredible). The reason is that our government and society refuse to invest in early childhood in meaningful ways.

I’m not saying daycare is bad, or that kids don’t learn there. But there is a difference between a high quality ECE program like SFF was and a daycare. You can’t hire daycare workers from Bright Horizons with a couple years experience and a CDA and expect them to be as good of a teacher as a master’s prepared educator who had been in the field for 5, 10 or 20 years. Just calling a program an elite preschool or a high quality early childhood program doesn’t make it so. I know as parents we all want to believe our kids are getting the best education but honestly having seen some great and amazing schools I know personally my kid is not getting that — and it’s because we just can’t afford it.

So please list for me what you think the "high quality early childhood programs" in this area are. My daughter goes to a center I imagine you'd think is not high quality, and yet it fulfills everything you listed as a requirement for those programs.

[Anonymous]

New poster here--current SFF family. We have been very happy there and will send #2 next year. PP is right that it's easier to get into the pre-k classrooms, given DC prek options. They ask you to be a part of the community and contribute, yes, but no need to fundraise. Can't speak to pre/post Jim, as we weren't there, but it's a very happy, nurturing place. The upstairs (older) and downstairs (younger) classrooms feel somewhat separate, and I can only speak to younger classes, but we especially love the small size, the fact that all of the teachers know and care for all of the kids, the emphasis on diversity, and that they spend a lot of time playing outside. Happy to answer specific questions if helpful.

[Anonymous]

Tell me where your daughter is then. And honestly I’d be surprised to see Anti Bias Curriculum done many places. Most schools are really unwilling to implement the concepts it calls for like stopping preschool graduation ceremonies with caps and gowns, rice in the sensory table, noodles in art projects, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell me where your daughter is then. And honestly I’d be surprised to see Anti Bias Curriculum done many places. Most schools are really unwilling to implement the concepts it calls for like stopping preschool graduation ceremonies with caps and gowns, rice in the sensory table, noodles in art projects, etc.

I'm not going to potentially out myself by telling you where my daughter attends, just so you can rip it down.

Moreover, the supposed "anti-bias" things you're talking about are crazy. Is rice in the sensory table supposed to be offensive to Asians? Is noodles in art projects supposed to be offensive to Italians? Asinine.

[Anonymous]

No, the idea is that food is a resource that many people in the world don’t have access to. To kids who are starving, it’s a precious resource. So when we teach kids food is just something that you play with and throw away and use for art, you’re not teaching them how food waste hurts others and you’re showing disrespect for families with food insecurity. My mom used to teach Head Start years ago and literally had kids who tried to take dried noodles home in their pockets because they were hungry.

Preschool graduation is developmentally inappropriate. It’s a meaningless exercise for children that places a lot of pressure and stress on teachers, kids and schools to perform when the activity doesn’t mean anything to a 5 year old. There are far better ways to mark the accomplishment than forcing kids to sit through a ceremony that doesn’t mean anything to them—class parties, memory books, etc.

Your excessive confidence that your daughter’s school is incredible and follows this curriculum, and then your complete reversal that these ideas are “crazy” says more about you than it does about me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, the idea is that food is a resource that many people in the world don’t have access to. To kids who are starving, it’s a precious resource. So when we teach kids food is just something that you play with and throw away and use for art, you’re not teaching them how food waste hurts others and you’re showing disrespect for families with food insecurity. My mom used to teach Head Start years ago and literally had kids who tried to take dried noodles home in their pockets because they were hungry.

Preschool graduation is developmentally inappropriate. It’s a meaningless exercise for children that places a lot of pressure and stress on teachers, kids and schools to perform when the activity doesn’t mean anything to a 5 year old. There are far better ways to mark the accomplishment than forcing kids to sit through a ceremony that doesn’t mean anything to them—class parties, memory books, etc.

Your excessive confidence that your daughter’s school is incredible and follows this curriculum, and then your complete reversal that these ideas are “crazy” says more about you than it does about me.

You are pretty insufferable and just plain tiring, to be honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, the idea is that food is a resource that many people in the world don’t have access to. To kids who are starving, it’s a precious resource. So when we teach kids food is just something that you play with and throw away and use for art, you’re not teaching them how food waste hurts others and you’re showing disrespect for families with food insecurity. My mom used to teach Head Start years ago and literally had kids who tried to take dried noodles home in their pockets because they were hungry.

Preschool graduation is developmentally inappropriate. It’s a meaningless exercise for children that places a lot of pressure and stress on teachers, kids and schools to perform when the activity doesn’t mean anything to a 5 year old. There are far better ways to mark the accomplishment than forcing kids to sit through a ceremony that doesn’t mean anything to them—class parties, memory books, etc.

Your excessive confidence that your daughter’s school is incredible and follows this curriculum, and then your complete reversal that these ideas are “crazy” says more about you than it does about me.

You are pretty insufferable and just plain tiring, to be honest.

New to this particular thread and.....wow....the last two posts took an unfortunate turn....

[Anonymous]

I guess it’s hard to acknowledge privilege and that plenty of people in the world are impoverished and don’t have food. Not sure why that others you, Pp.

[Anonymous]

My kid has been there for two years now and it has been amazing for him. The teachers are warm, the playground is really cute and they get a lot of outdoor time, and he's really gone from being quiet and reserved to being rather outspoken. I do credit the teachers for that. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask! But to answer you, the older classes are easier to get into given PK3 and PK4 are free in DC. No, there's no fund raising, but you are asked to donate if you can. The level of parent involvement is minimal if you want it to be, or you if you want to be the parent that goes in and reads to the kids weekly, they would love it.

[Anonymous]

New to this thread here - a few PPs mentioned that it is easier to get into the older classes. Thinking about sending my DC there right around 1 y.o. How difficult is it ? And why the difficulties ? Thanks !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The magic of that school was the former director. They’ve had quite a few teacher turnover as well so verdict is out!

Yep. It has a daycare vibe now. The staff quality has gone down.

Go away, anti-daycare troll.

I’m not anti daycare. But the program was excellent under Jim Clay and under the new administration it’s gone downhill. Sorry. Saying it’s a great school doesn’t make it so. You have to hire excellent, degreed teachers with deep experience in early childhood education, anti bias curriculum, project based and play based learning, and have a strong curriculum and lots of professional development. Jim did that. I do not see that anymore.

Also the new head has a reputation for being terrible administrator. There is high teacher turnover and families arw leaving. Ask around and talknto current parents!