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We are currently in preschool. A bit shocked at the amount of time preschool expects from parents (not even counting the volunteering for fund-raising and other community activities): presence encouraged during the day at the school every other week for this activity or that celebration, little projects that require running around on WE. You multiply this by 2 (or 3) children and it borders on ridiculous. As another mom said at a recent meeting, can't they just take care of the children without us getting involved for a few hours a day for that price? I am all for "real" homework but don't really see the value of having to bring family pictures or leaves from the park for the nth time. In your experience, does it get better starting in K? Is there a difference between private and public from that standpoint? I am about to start working again and it is definitely a consideration in our decision.
12 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]this is something you should have looked into when applying. some expect more and some less. our preschool doesn't encourage parents in the classroom. parents are rarely if ever invited in and no time is expected of anyone who doesn't want to come.
[ Reply | Options ]When we interviewed there, they were certainly not giving this impression. We didn't apply to coop schools partly for this reason. In any case, what is done is done. I am more interested in finding out whether there is a difference between public and private schools starting in K. All the private schools gave us the spiel of "we want families to be involved" which can mean a number of things of course: donations or lots of time in the classroom. Our local public is also big on fund-raising and "involved parents" so I am not sure which is worst on that front. Was hoping to hear from K+ parents.
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First of all, our preschool wasn't like this at all. Second, as for on-going schools, traditional private schools require the least parental involvement. They tend to have a "leave the child at the door and let us do our job" philosophy. I think public school can require the most from parents b/c they need parent volunteers to do what they don't have the staff to do (like monitor lunch and recess, plan class "parties" like publishing parties etc.). We are in a progressive private that allows the parents to be involved if they want, but doesn't require it at all (I remember in K when we had our mtg with the teacher the first week of school, she said "I expect you here for two parent/teacher conferences, for parents' day and for the end of the year presentation. Everything else is personal preference. If there is a problem, I'll let you know. if you want to reach me, here is my email and feel free to use it as much or as little as you want.")
[ Reply | Options ]At our private, parents drop-off and pick-up from the class room for K, and that's it. Otherwise, they are left at the door. The only "mandatory" parent involvement is walking safety patrol 1x a year after school, and you know your date in September. Otherwise, you can volunteer to bring in treats for holiday parties or to chaperone a field trip, but not required. There are actually very few opportunities to get past that front door, so there are always people willing to volunteer just to get a peek in the classroom.
[ Reply | Options ]Intersting. At our preschool some parents are very involved and it is actually fun to be involved. But if you don't want to do it, just do it. I assume they ask for volunteers, so just don't speak up. If someone asks you to do "X", say "I would love to, but sorry, I'm too busy at the moment"
[ Reply | Options ]It gets so much better in K. I found our preschool's total disregard for working parents really disrespectful and annoying. DC is now at ongoing and it is much much better - the ongoings don't really want parents hanging around, and all meetings/etc. are scheduled for either first thing in the morning or in the evening.
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