Reply to Toddler left at Livingston Park by daycare (FCC?)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]what i don't get is how they didn't notice the ACTUAL child.  not a head count, not a name on a list.  for an HOUR!?!?  at our daycare, someone would definitely have been like, "wheres johnny?" immediately, if not within a minute or two  the kids aren't nameless faces.  something is off about this place.[/quote]

This is an awful story, it never should have happened.

But as a teacher of young children, I can tell you that, while I love and know and value each of my kids, the reason why good daycare centers have counting routines is because it would be easy to not notice a missing kid.

Across the day, and across the week, the list of kids you have varies.  Kids come and go, they take the day off, they arrive late, they go home early.  By the end of the week, it can be hard to remember whether it was today or yesterday that Johnny's dad came early, or which kid went up to spend a few minutes trying out the 3 year old room or to visit their baby sibling who is nursing with mom.

Which is why you have a procedure. [b] You count the kids when they line up, and double check it with the roster of kids, and then count them again, and then you count as you're walking while watching them like a hawk, and then again at the park 2, 3, 4 times.  [/b][/quote]

Why not just learn their names? That way you could go down the roster. look at them in line and check them off by name? That seems much more organized then doing multiple counts hoping to get the same number. Are there too many rotating / casual teachers to be able to know the kids by name?[/quote]

I am not sure why the hostility here.  For the record, I don't work at FCC, I've never lost a kid, and I almost certainly don't work with your kid.  I don't your kid's name but I certainly know the names of every kid I do work with.

A counting strategy is one where you're matching one set to another to make sure they match.  It might be a list of kids and a number, or a list of kids and a list of names, or a different strategies.  There are all sorts of ways to count the kids in a group, and a good daycare teachers is going to use a variety of methods.  Is calling names and checking them off a great way to count kids?  Yes, sometimes, and other times you need to keep your eyes on the group or a hand on a kid and looking up and down at a list isn't the safe choice.  Is counting for a number a great strategy?  Yes, sometimes, and other times when kids are moving it's too easy to double count.  Good systems have redundancy.  In a typical trip to the park the lead teacher might.

Before you leave, silently verify the count against the roster, making sure they know where each kid is, and your number of the day.  Double check that number by counting, and also by counting missing (e.g. home sick, or staying back with another class because mom's picking up at 4, not missing missing) kids and subtracting from your total.

Count the number in your line before you leave the classroom -- outloud so it's a math activity.

Have the staff member who stands in the street, in front of the cars, count heads as they cross.  Silenty this time so the kids can concentrate on crossing.

Use a primary caregiver model where each teacher has a small number of kids in their care, double check it by having moments where each staff checks in with the leads verifying that they can see each of their 3 or 4 or 5.  Do this every 10 minutes, plus before and after any kind of interruption (e.g. one teacher leaves with 2 kids to go into the bathroom, their others are redistributed for that time, check groups before she goes and when she comes back)

Call names and have kids respond when the kids are sitting on the edge of the sandbox before they walk back.

Count heads again once they're in line, and then when they get to the gate.  Line them up so that each teacher's "group" is right in front of them.

Take the kids to tables for water when they get back.  You set out 16 cups before you left.  If each kid gets a cup you've got avisual indication that your count is right.

Make a note on each kid's daily form saying "I did ____ at the park".  When you do so turn and spot check that you can find them.

Each of these is a counting strategy, although only twice did teachers actually say numbers out loud.

What happened at FCC never should have happened.   Every center can line their kids up and have one who is hiding in a tunnel and doesn't come when called (or whatever, I don't know what was alleged).  But there should have been several layers of safety checks to make sure it was noticed, before they left the park, both by the teacher assigned to him and by whoever was responsible for the overall count.  If somehow he was missed then there should have been another count at the gate, or the street, or the door of the classroom that caught it.  These teachers didn't mess up once.  They messed up multiple times.  They should be fired, and the director who probably wasn't providing adequate professional development about center policies, and probably wasn't supervising and coaching her staff well enough to realize that they weren't up to the task, should be fired too.  [/quote]

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