Reply to Prek - 3 adjustment

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Prek - 3 adjustment"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here - my DS has a mid-January birthday so he's actually one of the oldest kids in his class. Drop-offs were fine last week, but he looked totally dejected at pick up and literally fell apart the minute he saw me. He's been unusually clingy the last two days; I make a point of saying my goodbyes and keeping it short and sweet. His school sent a class picture on their app and he just looked so unhappy - he's been in daycare since infancy and I'm frankly surprised that he seems so unhappy.

He's not in aftercare and attends a DCPS; I wonder if a half-day Montessori program would be a better fit.[/quote]

My belief is that daycares/private preschools are MUCH more focused on nurturing and keeping the kids happy.  PK3 at a DCPS/Charter is basically tacked on to an elementary school, and the kids are expected to fit into that (e.g., moving around classrooms for specials) rather than the other way around.  And they are already starting with the test prep in PK3, and the teachers have to do a LOT of data collection for various measurements.  For some kids this is fine; other kids would be much happier in a low-key program. Unless you really need the extra money, there's no harm in waiting until K for "real school."  And by K, my July boy who could not cope with DCPS at 3 was more than ready for a full day of school!  [/quote]

I think you’re on to something; the first thing he wanted to do when he got to school last Thursday was to play, but wasn’t allowed to because of he had to learn the “rules”. I assumed that since Pre K is play-based there would be more, well, playing. He’s at a Title 1 so maybe they are more concerned with assessments and measurements. If he doesn’t settle in I will be sure to look for a school with a strong SEL orientation for next year.[/quote]

So I actually don't think this has anything to do with being Title I or SEL curriculums (and also that you can tell anything about the program from the orientation ...) It's just that [b]it's public pre-SCHOOL[/b]- they're treating the kids like students as part of a public program. Daycares just want to keep little kids happy, pretty much.  [/quote]

Yep. And for the most part, all of the DCPS and charter preks are similar, with the exception of the Montessori's. But those are not play-based at all. 
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics