Monday, May 12, 2008

Questions?

Alex and I are looking into switching my sons school. He has had 3 directors, and 5 or 6 teachers, one of his teachers is pregnant-and the one he just lost had a baby and is not coming back. He finally has a teacher that he loves, only to be moved next month to the older 2's room. The turn around is just too high. Plus with a little research rather than convenience, he is at the highest priced school that I've looked into thus far. It's walking distance from my house, so I went with it. It is not a brand new building, but was a brand new "school" when we put him in, so all of the toys and furniture were new, and we liked that. I'm noticing the difference between the Mommy questions verses the Daddy questions. Those are my reasons for wanting to move him. daddy's are......"Every time I walk in there to pick him up, all I smell is CRAP. It never smells fresh in there. And for what I'm paying, it could be a lot nicer." The simple explanation to that is that all of the big kids are in the back of the building, and all of the diaper wearing kids are in the front. I have noticed that most schools are set up that way. But to him, "The place smells."
I am previewing the schools, and if I feel they are a possible fit for my son, then I tell Alex, and he comes to take a look. 2 didn't even make the cut, and one we visited.

My Questions:
1. How long are most of your staff members here, and what qualifications do they need to work here? Do they take continuing education classes?
2. Can I supply my own sheets, blanket and pillow for him?
3. What are your hours?
4. What is your child/teacher ratio?
5. Do you have an open door policy?

Daddy's Questions:
1. Does your kitchen get graded by the heath department?
2. Do you have a school nurse on staff, and if not, are all staff members certified in first aid and CPR?
3. Do you take the children off of the premises?
4. Do children nap like this in all schools?(on a cot-no padding-I thought he would die when he saw that)
5. Where do you evacuate to in case of an emergency?
6. Do you have a cleaning crew that comes in every night, or do the teachers do it?
7. What type of solution do you use to disinfect and clean the toys/bathroom and such.
8. Are the floors mopped daily?

As I look at these questions, my questions are Mommy questions. Is he going to be in a safe and loving environment with a staff that truly loves children, and can I come and check on him whenever I please, and if he starts to build relationships here, what is the chance that he will be continuously saying "goodbye" to the people that he has grown comfortable with.

Daddy's questions are more about safety & cleanliness. All good questions, but don't you see the difference? I say..."But he has all of these little friends there..." And Daddy simply says....."He'll make new ones". I guess everyone sees and views things through their own eyes. I thought the search was over, until we went on the playground and there was a PVC pipe stretched across the sidewalk where the children would be walking and playing that was running from the gutter, and there was also a cell phone tower behind the school. SO....I continue the search. I'll keep you posted.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

These comments are not that surprising from a man who asked a Board Certified Surgeon if he was sure he wouldn't drop Amber's Tonsils and choke her to death during surgery!!!

Colleen Gebhardt said...

Or ask the anesthesiologist how he is qualified to know when to say when? I thought I would die....