PP here again. I've seen some fabulous male early childhood educators. I don't know why the PP is suspicious of them. I've worked with some amazing men in the field.

I'm an early childhood educator. This teacher clearly is not qualified to be a preK teacher. Period. This is often the case with schools that are PreK through 5, 6, 8, etc. School leadership often does not realize how vastly different the early childhood years are compared to the lower and upper primary years. They end up hiring someone who they think has great experience, but have only taught older children and/or have no training in early childhood ed. I have seen this happen even in an expensive private, where teachers who had no business teaching early childhood were basically scolding, threatening, and insulting young children.

Young children need to be nurtured, not punished. Time out is considered a big no-no in a preschool classroom. First of all, the teacher should spend the first two months of the school year teaching children the routines of the classroom and building class cohesion. This includes how we move around our classroom, what it means to be a friend, what are our daily routines, how do we take care of ourselves, our things, and our friends, etc. Children act up when they don't know what's going on or don't feel comfortable or safe. Children need to feel comfortable in their space and teachers are responsible for providiing an enviornment in which they can feel comfortable. The most important thing to be taught in a three year old classroom are social-emotional skills, and all that they entail.

If there are issues, teachers need to approach parents transparently and respectfully. Teachers, admins and parents need to work together as a team. Teachers are not diagnosticians, but experienced early childhood educators can recognize behavior that can be concerning. The team then needs to get an expert in to observe and put together a behavior plan or whatever else services a child might need. It needs to be done in a positive, nurturing way - not punishing or threats to expel a three year old!! That's unacceptable on the part of the teacher and school.

I'm inherently suspicious of a male preschool teacher to begin with.

Time-outs are never appropriate discipline.

Is there another Threes class at the school? I would ask to be moved. This guy doesn't seem to get normal 3 year old behavior and I imagine has no concept of positive reinforcement.

Let me guess. Charter School.

Just read my wife your OP. She is a DCPS school social worker at a school that has PK3. She said it is never appropriate to expell a 3 year old.

OP here, thanks everyone for the feedback. I went to see his teacher and he had a very different attitude than when he spoke to me on the phone regarding expulsion. (His actual comment was he would not be able to come back to his class). He was very positive and upbeat. The discussion mainly covered joint efforts for positive/negative behavior. My DC got a stick of sugarfree gum yesterday. I guess he is getting better.

PCSB requires that all discipline rules, including those for expulsion, are clearly laid out for each school. Request a copy of that if it wasn't included in your handbook at the beginning of the school year (which you should have received). I would be willing to throw down money that there is nothing in the procedures outlining expulsion for non-compliance. Usually expulsion is only for gross bodily harm, possession of a weapon and sometimes destruction of property.

"When is it appropriate to expel a 3 year old?"

Never.

Wish you had mentioned you had twins in your original post, OP. I think sometimes teacher do "lump" twins together (as other PP mentioned always thinking of them as a set, rather than as individuals).
If one kid is "easier" for the teacher than the other, even if second child is still within the range of normal behavior for a three year old, I think sometimes the teacher can subconsciously have less patience with less-easy child. "Why can't twin B just do it, twin A does?"
Doesn't really change the fact that this ultimately this school might not be a good fit. Just wanted to let you know it can sometimes be one more aspect in teacher-student relationships.

I hope you can get him out and find a good school asap. i know its hard though.

I saw this subject line and almost ignored it as a joke. Expelling a 3 year old? That's absurd. School should think psychologist. What 3 year old is accountable enough for their actions to be subjected to expulsion? In private daycare they're more likely to be expelled because parents chronically pick up late or fail to make required payments.

I would consider pulling the kid for no other reason than this -- do you want someone so utterly clueless about early childhood development caring for your kid 8+ hours a day?

Anonymous wrote:Parent to parent, I agree with the PPs who are saying that you just need to find someplace new for your child, because if the school is seriously suggesting expulsion, it's just not right for your child.

As a DC taxpayer, I'm appalled at the idea of a charter expelling a child for what aounds like age-typical behavior. If charters are skimming the most docile kids and leaving DCPS to educate the hard-to-manage, that's not fair.

Not all charters do. I am at an awesome charter that has been amazing at working with my child, who is likely mild SPD and had a hard time transitioning to PS3. I'm so sorry this is happening to you, OP. You need to decide whether to escalate to the administration or move your child, because they are doing your child a major disservice. It sounds like the teacher is totally unqualified to work with 3yos.

This is indeed not normal behavior (and I mean the teacher not the child). You should start taking written notes at once and politely but decisively contact authorities, first the school and then I'd even say the charter school board. It sounds to me like this teacher is not early childhood trained (frequent time-outs for a three year old?!), which is a requirement.
Not to mention that I don't believe that "expulsion" is possible. Then again, charters get all kinds of breaks when it comes to getting money for students but then getting rid of them, as a recent WaPo investigation made very clear.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, his behavior has been consistent. He was getting better but the teacher says he regressed after the winter break. DC says no to me but I handle it. I agree this is typical for his age and by no means warrant expulsion. I will listen to their suggestions but this is not the appropriate school for my DC. Learning is more than knowing your A,B,Cs and 1, 2, 3s. I don't know about pulling him out so late in the year though. That may be even harder for him. Also he has a twin sister and I would have to transfer her as well.

So the problem maybe at home....u said he regressed sincethewinter break

PP, perhaps you parent the only child(ren) in history who can handle routine changes with no disruption. Winter break was 2 weeks for most DC schools, long enough to really mess with a child's expectations for what life is like. Having a hard time readjusting to the everyday is 100% normal.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, his behavior has been consistent. He was getting better but the teacher says he regressed after the winter break. DC says no to me but I handle it. I agree this is typical for his age and by no means warrant expulsion. I will listen to their suggestions but this is not the appropriate school for my DC. Learning is more than knowing your A,B,Cs and 1, 2, 3s. I don't know about pulling him out so late in the year though. That may be even harder for him. Also he has a twin sister and I would have to transfer her as well.

So the problem maybe at home....u said he regressed sincethewinter break