Preschool drama for the Mama
After being home for a week, last Monday I broke down and decided to check my voice mail when we had some down time after lunch. We rarely use our home phone, so 99% of our voice mail comes from the Jeep dealer "reminding" me that it's time for George the Green Car to have this or that botox-ed. Sure enough, the first of my three new messages was not for me, but George. However, the third message was one that would completely change the course of the week.
It was from Isaac's preschool, lovingly chosen by us in February. "I have some sad news," said a strange lady from the affiliated church, "the school's head teacher unexpectedly resigned yesterday. We can't possibly find a suitable replacement in time, so we've decided to close the school for the year."
I allowed myself a moment of bittersweet reminiscence, remembering when the boys and I had toured the school in January. The head teacher was the only of the school's two teachers that I had talked to, and she had lent me her ear for a full half-hour while her charges free-played all around us. At the time, she couldn't possibly have had quitting on her mind, because she had looked me in the eye and painted me a picture of what life would be like for my son in her classroom in the fall. I don't pretend to know her situation, but she obviously left my family and thirty-some others in a serious predicament less than a month from school's start.
So, after flashing a firm double-bird out my window in the school's general direction, I sat the babies down for a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse marathon and looked up all the similar preschools in our area, retracing the same steps I had taken all last fall as I strategically plotted Isaac's future. Of course, now it was far too late. As I called around, I learned that the ill-fated message was left on August 17th; in getting the message 10 days later I had was at a serious disadvantage against his schoolmates' parents, now my competitors. Even worse, his school was slated to start on September 11th, while many preschools in town start September 4th. Everybody's favorite preschool on Main Street, my second choice, told me Isaac would be 8th on their waiting list for the 3-year-old classroom. The sweet director there gave me more names to call, including the preschool at our sometimes-church. The director there still hasn't called me back.
After doing the rounds with all the schools we were actively considering in the fall and coming up empty-handed, for some reason my mind drifted to one that I hadn't really investigated much, even though I had some acquaintances in a rather well-to-do neighborhood who had sent their kids there and loved it. Surely, I thought, it would suck, for it was also significantly cheaper than all the ones on our short list. But I was slightly desperate. I called the director, and sure enough, they had seven spots available in Isaac's class this year, largely due to a few kids dropping out due to the ill-health of family members. Turns out the reason it's so cheap? ("REASONABLE," said the director) They get a small budget from the city, and they're a non-profit. Even the church preschools in town are for-profit.
We went for a visit, and almost to a tee, this preschool was identical to the one that had closed on us, except that it had one more room full of big toys, including a one-person trampoline and an mini indoor jungle gym for rainy days. After talking extensively with the director, we showed up the next day for a "meet and greet" with Isaac's class, an unofficial time for the kiddos to play with the security-blanket of parent nearby, before they get thrown them together, parentless and cold turkey, on Tuesday.
It was awesome. Isaac occasionally played with some kids, and the teachers took special time to sit with Isaac individually and interact with him. Dude also whipped out his $5 word in front of the director, informing me that "those cabinets are multicolored!" So perfect. And speaking of multicolored, before we were there for 20 minutes, one of the teachers had already added a certain special blond man to the roster (which is minus a few classmates who felt a special pull for their nametag):
So, after all that crap, we have a great new preschool to call home. Isaac's first day is tomorrow. Wish him luck.
It was from Isaac's preschool, lovingly chosen by us in February. "I have some sad news," said a strange lady from the affiliated church, "the school's head teacher unexpectedly resigned yesterday. We can't possibly find a suitable replacement in time, so we've decided to close the school for the year."
I allowed myself a moment of bittersweet reminiscence, remembering when the boys and I had toured the school in January. The head teacher was the only of the school's two teachers that I had talked to, and she had lent me her ear for a full half-hour while her charges free-played all around us. At the time, she couldn't possibly have had quitting on her mind, because she had looked me in the eye and painted me a picture of what life would be like for my son in her classroom in the fall. I don't pretend to know her situation, but she obviously left my family and thirty-some others in a serious predicament less than a month from school's start.
So, after flashing a firm double-bird out my window in the school's general direction, I sat the babies down for a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse marathon and looked up all the similar preschools in our area, retracing the same steps I had taken all last fall as I strategically plotted Isaac's future. Of course, now it was far too late. As I called around, I learned that the ill-fated message was left on August 17th; in getting the message 10 days later I had was at a serious disadvantage against his schoolmates' parents, now my competitors. Even worse, his school was slated to start on September 11th, while many preschools in town start September 4th. Everybody's favorite preschool on Main Street, my second choice, told me Isaac would be 8th on their waiting list for the 3-year-old classroom. The sweet director there gave me more names to call, including the preschool at our sometimes-church. The director there still hasn't called me back.
After doing the rounds with all the schools we were actively considering in the fall and coming up empty-handed, for some reason my mind drifted to one that I hadn't really investigated much, even though I had some acquaintances in a rather well-to-do neighborhood who had sent their kids there and loved it. Surely, I thought, it would suck, for it was also significantly cheaper than all the ones on our short list. But I was slightly desperate. I called the director, and sure enough, they had seven spots available in Isaac's class this year, largely due to a few kids dropping out due to the ill-health of family members. Turns out the reason it's so cheap? ("REASONABLE," said the director) They get a small budget from the city, and they're a non-profit. Even the church preschools in town are for-profit.
We went for a visit, and almost to a tee, this preschool was identical to the one that had closed on us, except that it had one more room full of big toys, including a one-person trampoline and an mini indoor jungle gym for rainy days. After talking extensively with the director, we showed up the next day for a "meet and greet" with Isaac's class, an unofficial time for the kiddos to play with the security-blanket of parent nearby, before they get thrown them together, parentless and cold turkey, on Tuesday.
It was awesome. Isaac occasionally played with some kids, and the teachers took special time to sit with Isaac individually and interact with him. Dude also whipped out his $5 word in front of the director, informing me that "those cabinets are multicolored!" So perfect. And speaking of multicolored, before we were there for 20 minutes, one of the teachers had already added a certain special blond man to the roster (which is minus a few classmates who felt a special pull for their nametag):
So, after all that crap, we have a great new preschool to call home. Isaac's first day is tomorrow. Wish him luck.
posted by Claire at 11:44 AM
1 Comments:
Best of luck Isaac! I know you'll be a preschool rock star!
Liam starts next Tuesday. eeek!
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