Credit: Support PDX / Flickr

Credit: Support PDX / Flickr

A growing body of inquiry indicates that a high-quality preschool education tin can position children for academic success for years to come, simply how does a parent know what to look for when it comes to selecting a school for their child?

Effective preschool programs share common elements that should be hands identifiable on fifty-fifty a brief introductory visit, said Stanford Academy education professor and early childhood teaching expert Deborah Stipek. Stipek met EdSource Today recently for a tour of the Children's Centre of the Stanford Community, a individual, nonprofit preschool for children ages iii months to 5 years open to the children of Stanford students, kinesthesia and other employees. During the tour she pointed out best practices parents can look for during a visit to a preschool they're considering for their child.

Preschool is not a mandatory course, just it has long been popular with parents seeking more than simply child care in the years before public schoolhouse begins. While the Stanford centre is a private program with substantial tuition costs, Stipek stressed that the techniques employed there can exist seen at quality programs across the economic spectrum, from federally funded Head Showtime or state-run programs, to private preschools operating throughout the state. Most of the practices Stipek identified aren't costly to implement, but seeing them in practice can requite a parent important gauges of instructor effectiveness and educatee engagement. A slideshow accompanying this story illustrates the practices identified past Stipek in use at the Stanford middle every bit well equally at other centers.

The post-obit are some key signs of strong programs that parents tin wait for:

Quality of teaching

At first glance, a well-run preschool can look a lot like children playing, merely fifty-fifty play offers lessons for preschoolers. The educational value of building towers out of blocks or making pretty colors with the water in an water ice cube tray isn't always articulate to an outsider, just a good teacher will be able to explain information technology, Stipek said.

"Expert teaching is purposeful," Stipek said. "If you ask the teacher, they should be able to articulate why (students are doing) this activity and what the learning goal is."

For case, the children building a structure out of wooden blocks in one corner of the room are learning about spatial reasoning, bones physics and, since they're working in a grouping, cooperation. The children mixing different colored waters in ice cube trays are learning nigh the basics of color theory: xanthous and bluish make green. Both activities are an example of children learning by exploring their environment, Stipek said.

"This is what cognitive development people refer to as 'spontaneous development,'" Stipek said. "They become this kind of intuitive agreement of something – then subsequently they'll learn the scientific discipline of information technology."

Many of the teachers at the Stanford heart have bachelor's degrees in early childhood development, said center managing director Karen Myers, yet California does not crave that preschool teachers concord bachelor's degrees. While many kid education experts say a bachelor's degree or higher is preferred, the state requires only that preschool teachers concur a Child Development Associate Allow, which calls for less than a year'due south worth of formal preparation and a few months' worth of in-classroom experience. High-quality programs provide ongoing training for their teachers and some offer teachers assist in pursuing additional certifications or higher education.

Good teachers of all levels know that immature children have short attention spans and that the best fashion to get students to concentrate longer is to give them the autonomy to choose their ain activeness or their own way of doing a group activity. I way to measure a instructor'southward effectiveness in this expanse is to look at student art displayed on the walls, Stipek said. If every slice of art matches – 18 identical brown teddy bears, for example – that could bespeak that activities at the school are largely teacher-directed. High-quality programs volition display more varied pupil artwork.

Giving students a choice about which activities they pursue does not hateful teachers don't have a plan for the twenty-four hour period, Stipek said. Many preschools work with a curriculum, and that may require whole-grouping activities. That's fine, Stipek said, as long as there'south a mix of teacher-supervised and cocky-directed activities.

"Yous don't want to be telling (the children) what to do all the fourth dimension," she said. "You desire to brand certain there are experiences all kids become because they're important, simply it's also of import to let them bring themselves to the task."

To ensure children accept proper supervision, state law sets strict guidelines for how many adults are required to be in the classroom, as well likewise as guidelines for how many children a certified teacher can supervise. Preschool classrooms in California are typically staffed by multiple adults, each with different experience and educational levels, to keep the developed-to-child ratios depression. Land police force requires one developed per every viii, 3- or 4-year-one-time child in a preschool classroom, and one certified teacher to every 28 preschool students. Most centers employ assistant teachers, who frequently hold lower-level education certifications, to ensure that state ratios are met. In some co-op programs, parents may also assistance supervise classrooms. The required ratios are lower for younger children.

Tips for parents: Look for students participating in a diversity of activities that let them to practise choice, be creative and have fun. Ask teachers or heart leaders to explicate the purpose backside a few of the activities you notice. Ask virtually the educational background and experience of the middle's lead teachers.

Classroom surroundings

Preschool classrooms should have an open floor plan with low shelves, tables and chairs and a visible bath department, Stipek said. Though it tin wait odd, state police requires that toilets for children in preschool and day care programs be within view of the instructor. Oft they will exist ready behind a low wall that an adult can hands see over but that provide some privacy from other children.

"Await at the environment and come across how rubber it is if the kid wasn't being watched every second," Stipek said.

The unique artwork created by students at the Children's Center for the Stanford Community in Palo Alto is a sign that the program allows children to create their own work.

The unique artwork created by students at the Children'due south Center for the Stanford Community in Palo Alto is a sign that the plan allows children to create their own piece of work. Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource

Stipek pointed out the rounded corners on a nearby bookshelf as an example of a rubber surroundings. Parents should look for general cleanliness besides equally condom features such as covered electric sockets, toys without sharp edges and safe storage of potentially dangerous materials, including pigment and cleaning supplies.

Blocks, dolls, books and annihilation else available for complimentary play should be readily accessible past students without adult intervention, Stipek said. During "center time," when children can pick various activities set out for them around the classroom, materials should exist set out at low tables that children tin can access on their ain.

"A matter you see in not-very-skillful schools is that kids have to ask for toys," she said. A strong "teacher wants to maximize the genuine, trouble-solving interaction with the child," Stipek said, non spend fourth dimension retrieving toys.

Even the arrangement of materials in the center at Stanford is purposeful: An area for reading contains a couch and bookshelves; one corner has several types of blocks on brandish and plenty of space for building; and a third expanse defended to apparel-up and make-believe play provides a toy stove, a pretend phone and a "doctor's office." Stipek said clear separations between dissimilar parts of the room help children navigate their environs. They know where to notice the books, they know where to put the blocks away and they know where to go if they want to pretend to cook dinner with their friends.

"One affair we've learned about early childhood is how important pretend play is, so really expert schools accept an surface area that's conducive to pretend play," Stipek said.

Pretend play teaches children empathy, encourages linguistic communication development and gives them space to solve problems. If a child is pretending to be a medico, for example, he has to think well-nigh how the doctor would feel toward his patient, practice saying adult "doctor" words, and figure out what to do when in that location are more dolls than bandages. Allowing time and space for this kind of play is important for development, Stipek said.

Tips for parents: Look for well-organized classrooms that allow teachers articulate sight-lines when children are playing independently. Low shelves should be stocked with items that encourage children to play creatively. Bank check that classrooms and playgrounds are clean and include kid-proof prophylactic measures.

Attending to student functioning

Some parents may cringe at the thought of their young child being tested, but a strong preschool program volition go along track of the development of individual children. Several well-established assessments of social and emotional growth besides as academic preparedness are available to early on childhood educators. These non-academic assessments help parents and teachers mensurate important developmental traits such equally cocky-esteem; whether children understand what adults are telling them; a child's ability to go along trying a new task – similar rebuilding a tower that's fallen down; and fine motor skills.

Noticing and identifying developmental delays, learning disabilities and health problems is some other part of a preschool's job. Parents should be notified of whatever concerns and piece of work with teachers to identify ways to address the issue if such a delay is identified.

In that location is not a set list of skills that children are expected to have when they leave preschool, merely the assessment of developmental growth used in most California preschools can requite parents an idea of the kinds of skills children should have to be ready for kindergarten. Social skills like the ability to take turns, control impulses and play cooperatively with peers are critical skills for doing well in kindergarten.

On the academic side, children who can identify letters and numbers, know how to hold a book and turn the pages and understand early math concepts, such as counting and the names of shapes, will be well prepared to start kindergarten. Some preschool programs place more emphasis on bookish skills than others, and parents should ask center leaders for more details on their program. High-quality schools offer children fourth dimension to play and explore, have teachers who nowadays activities that encourage thinking and problem solving, and offer a clear way to track developmental progress, Stipek said.

Tips for parents: Ask centre leaders how they track child evolution and screen for potential problems. Look for an outline of the school's curriculum or ask how pre-academic skills are encouraged.

Student, staff interactions

Teachers should interact with children on their level, literally. The three teachers in the Stanford Center preschool classroom regularly crouched or knelt next to their students.

Gabriel Garfin, 5, bandages a doll with a hurt tummy in the pretend doctor's office at Children's Center of the Stanford Community in Palo Alto.

Gabriel Garfin, five, bandages a doll with a hurt tummy in the pretend doc'due south part at Children's Center of the Stanford Community. Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource

"Notice that she merely got downwardly on her knees and made heart-to-heart contact?" Stipek said as a teacher greeted a child waking up from her afternoon nap. "That was a wonderful footling interchange that shows a teacher who is outgoing and supportive."

Creating eye-to-centre contact encourages students to talk with teachers longer, thereby developing their linguistic communication abilities, and information technology makes children more comfortable with their teachers, creating a bond that gives children a solid base from which to explore. Research shows that a secure attachment between teachers and immature children encourages learning.

Preschool teachers are stand-in parents for very young children, who learn best when they feel cared for and emotionally connected, Stipek said. Teachers must tend to small-scale injuries and sometimes help children with tasks such as tying shoes or changing pants afterward bath accidents. A hug, if a child is feeling broken-hearted or hurt, is appropriate for this age group, she said.

Another mode teachers can connect with children is by engaging them in chat. Strong teachers spend more fourth dimension listening than talking, Stipek said. In addition to making children feel validated, information technology "gives kids some space to develop their language skills," she said.

Children should as well collaborate with each other voluntarily as well every bit at the teacher's behest. When at that place's a disagreement betwixt children, teachers should assistance them settle it between themselves whenever possible, rather than doling out punishment. In fact, Stipek said, disagreements should be rare in a well-run classroom with plenty to do and materials for everyone.

"By having the clear routine and having a safe environment, the teachers don't need to be yelling at the kids," Stipek said of the Stanford middle classroom. Since students knew what to await from their teachers and their classroom, they were less likely to have outbursts, she said.

One incident illustrated what Stipek said was an effective instructor response to an upset child. A boy shouted, "It'southward mine!" when another child wanted to apply the same art supplies. A teacher was at his side immediately, simply instead of scolding him, she said, "That was a pretty big reaction." Past acknowledging how the kid felt without judging him, the instructor was able to move past the flare-up rapidly and address the upshot of sharing. In a moment, the boy had calmed downwardly and at that place was a plan for how the 2 children could share the art supplies.

Tips for parents: Look for classrooms with engaged teachers and children who testify spontaneous signs of trusting their caregivers, like running up and hugging them or request them to join in a game of pretend. See if children choose to play together during gratis time and inquire teachers what they do to encourage cooperation.

To view the complete photo essay, click here or follow the Photo Snack link on the concluding slide.

Lillian Mongeau covers early childhood instruction. Contact her or follow her @lrmongeau

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