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I realize this is an unusual question, and please know that it is not a racist question. I am far from racist (I am Greek, my best friend is Asian, my ex-hb is black, and my son is half black), but I was struck by the feeling I got touring a particular pre-school. It took me a bit to put my finger on it, then I realized what it was: the entire staff, aside from the white director, was hispanic.
Now, keep in mind, this is not in SoCal where I used to live and in some areas whites are the minority and billboards are in Spanish. This was in Bethesda where the racial makeup is only 5.43% hispanic or latino.
Something the director said when I toured about their snow policy (which sounded excessive to me compared to our current school and others I've toured), is that they frequently close for even small amounts of snow "because their staff doesn't live in the immediate area and most have lengthy commutes" -- no mention of the kids, so another alert went up for me.
Then I got to thinking, especially given their lengthy commute, what are the odds that the *entire* staff, aside from the director, would be Hispanic? This is a fairly large pre-k, afterall. They have three classes just for the '2s' alone.
Would you be put off if the entire staff was one race? It doesn't seem to bother my cousin so her daughter goes there, and given it's ideal location (it really couldn't be any more convenient) and that his cousin goes there (they are 2 weeks apart so they'd possibly be in the same class), I'd love to consider this pre-school, however, as hard as I try, I can't seem to get past my hesitation about the lack of diversity in the staff.
I need to give someone a deposit to secure a spot for my son at a preschool (we LOVE our current school, but can't take it with us), but can't until I pick one. :|
Last edited by UserName14289; 12-22-2015 at 11:29 AM..
The lack of diversity wouldn't trouble me at all. Frequent closures due to weather would. If they have to cast a net far and wide to find staff, I wonder what kind of wages they offer. Is your child also 2? At that age patience and awareness of child development is more important than education (to me), but at 3-4 I would investigate the staff qualifications a little more.
My guess is that the pay is low for the area, and that's why the staff is made up of Hispanics who have to drive a far distance to get to work. They probably pay better than daycares in the areas where their staff lives, so it's worth the drive.
My sister was using a daycare where the staff was all Hispanic except the director. She had no problem with it at all...her husband is half Hispanic, I'm married to a Hispanic man, it's totally the norm here. The only concern she had was that the teachers in her son's room spoke Spanish to each other all the time and some of the things they said about the babies were less than nice, about appearance or personality. They didn't realize she could understand the comments. She didn't feel like they cared enough about the babies and her son was going to be in that classroom for a long time, so she switched to a different daycare.
Where I live, the whole city shuts down if there's even a bit of snow, but if you live in a place where it snows more often (we get snow maybe once every 20 years), then the closures for bad weather would be a concern.
Something the director said when I toured about their snow policy (which sounded excessive to me compared to our current school and others I've toured), is that they frequently close for even small amounts of snow "because their staff doesn't live in the immediate area and most have lengthy commutes" -- no mention of the kids, so another alert went up for me.
That would be a deal breaker for me, no matter what the racial makeup of the staff.
The lack of diversity wouldn't trouble me at all. Frequent closures due to weather would. If they have to cast a net far and wide to find staff, I wonder what kind of wages they offer. Is your child also 2? At that age patience and awareness of child development is more important than education (to me), but at 3-4 I would investigate the staff qualifications a little more.
That was one of my concerns about their wages (and this is *not* a cheap school, which is even more concerning). Monthly tuition is more than my first mortgage.
Yes, my son is almost 2.
He also has a speech delay. They boast teaching Spanish, but at 2, I want his focus to be on English. I was raised bilingual Greek and English and find it confusing for some children. I can't imagine how confusing it must be for a child with a speech delay.
Also, many people on the staff had thick accents and some less than ideal English since it's obviously their second language.
What I love about our current school is that it is extremely highly rated by the MD Dept. of Education, and that all their main pre-k teachers have a bachelor's or higher in a related field. Teacher assistants have at least their 90-certs. My cousin argues at this age, a degree is not important. She wants her daughter to feel safe and nurtured. To me, a degree says this is my chosen field, this is a career, a passion -- not something for extra cash or to get a Visa.
I also asked about their kindergarten preparedness rates, and got the answer, "well, a few students are reading by kindergarten" (I didn't specially ask about reading). At our current school, all kids are reading before kindergarten. I do not want my son struggling in kindergarten because he was not adequately prepared. Oh, and our current school costs $600/mo less.
Last edited by UserName14289; 12-22-2015 at 11:57 AM..
Reason: Typo
I'd be more concerned about the snow policy and less concerned about the ethnicity of the staff... since you presumably have to work even on days where there is some snow, I'd keep looking!
Wouldn't be a problem at all if they were all one race. What difference should it make? Here in Maine you don't get too many different races to choose from.
Wouldn't be a problem at all if they were all one race. What difference should it make? Here in Maine you don't get too many different races to choose from.
See above.
Also, in addition to the above concerns, I am big on him having exposures to many races and cultures. Having been raised in a place as diverse as the Balto/DC area, I think children learn a lot of important life lessons through diversity.
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