Looking for okay preschool on short notice... (Pittsburgh, Verona: day cares, how much)

[eschaton]

Hey all,

As my daughter has gotten older, my wife has been less and less enamored with our day care, but it reached a breaking point on Friday.

Our daughter has Asthma, and it flared up again after being in abeyance since the summer. So we began using a nebulizer with her again. We normally don't bring her into day care on Fridays, but we had a doctors appointment at nine, so we dropped her off for a few hours. I brought in the nebulizer, all parts, and the medicine. I signed a release form for them to administer medication.

When my wife picked up my daughter a few hours later, she was struggling to breathe, and they had not administered medicine. When she asked, they said because I had enclosed an already open, partial sheet of capsules (they come in a sealed bag) they were not allowed to give medication. My wife almost had to take our daughter to the hospital.

Regardless, my wife would like her to not spend another day there now, although our work schedules don't allow for that. She was interested in us sending her to the Waldorf School for day care after we found out she didn't get into Pittsburgh Montessori in September, but she didn't want to put in an application until we went to an open house, which we happened to miss today for unrelated reasons.

She keeps researching the "top daycares" in the city, but I have strong suspicions, based upon our experience when our daughter was a newborn, there will be months-long waiting lists to get into any of these, and we need a replacement right away. Therefore, I'm not looking for suggestions for great places, just ones with openings on short notice, hopefully in the East End.

Thanks.

[luabear]

Maybe Kentucky Avenue Children's School? I know someone who moved in the middle of the year and sent their child there.

[ctkalino]

How old is your daughter? In my experience, there are more random openings at the 'good' East End schools for kids who are 3-5 versus those who are under 3.
Try giving Shady Lane a call. They do typically have a waitlist and most openings come at the beginning of summer or start of the new school year, but sometimes have openings mid-year for the older age groups. They also added classrooms this Fall so they may have more openings than in previous years.
Good luck.

[Katarina Witt]

To tell you the truth, I am surprised any day care would be willing or legally allowed to give a nebulizer treatment. My daughter worked in a day care, was "leader" certified or some such, and she wouldn't have the faintest idea of how to do that. I have never heard of a day care doing that in my area. If the kid is that sick, they call the parents to come and get the child.

[robrobrob]

I sent you a PM but also consider the Monetessori off of Route 8. I think it ends at K. Also, Riverview in Verona is supposedly very very nice. Same for the Carriage House in Sq. Hill.

St. Edmunds might have a spot if you have the budget. Probably a little more than the Walsdorf but not much.

[groar]

i would go ahead and apply to the waldorf school, i know quite a few people who send their kids there and they're all totally happy with it.

[CaptainPittsburgh]

I don't know a thing about daycare, but sorry to hear about that experience. I was in the same boat as your daughter when I was her age, and it can be a really huge deal. I hated having to have a nebulizer around when I was a tyke, but, it definitely, definitely saved the day on a few occasions.

Katiana, it may sound odd, but daycares/preschools do have staff administer nebulizer treatments. It's actually a simple machine to use.

[Joe Magarac]

If you're looking for a preschool only (as your post title suggests), you might consider Shadyside Presbyterian. Our older two both went there and loved it. Our next two will likely do the same.

If you're looking for more of a daycare (as your actual statements suggest), I've heard good things about the Waldorf School's "Little Friends" program, as my wife and I know quite a few parents who have sent their kids there and been happy with it.

The only catch about the Waldorf School is that they have a very, um, interesting philosophy of education - no plastic, no synthetic fabric, no black markers or crayons, lots of exposure to the idea that there are tiny gnomes living throughout the city in forested spots. The parents we know figured that the kids wouldn't get much exposure to it in preschool, but all of them moved their kids to more traditional schools for kindergarten and beyond. To the extent that the preschool teachers actually subscribe to the Waldorf School's "anthroposphical" approach, they may be unable or unwilling to administer nebulizer treatments.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Katiana

To tell you the truth, I am surprised any day care would be willing or legally allowed to give a nebulizer treatment. My daughter worked in a day care, was "leader" certified or some such, and she wouldn't have the faintest idea of how to do that. I have never heard of a day care doing that in my area.

It flabbergasts me how much people trust and are willing to pay for their children to be watched by people who typically have little to no official training and are only making $9 - $11 an hour. I don't mean that as a criticism to you specifically eschaton, it's just a comment on our society where dual incomes and day cares are considered the norm rather than the exception. These day care and pre-school places are making hand over fist compared to what they pay out to their employees. I mean the weekly wages of a typical employee are usually equivalent to what a parent pays for 2 kids to go there, but they are watching 8 - 15 kids. I know they also usually have a high turnover rate because the employees leave for something higher paying, which can stress out the kids sometimes.

If the kid is that sick, they call the parents to come and get the child.

I think this is more typical, it's ridiculous that they wouldn't call the parents (or even an ambulance!) if a child is having trouble breathing of all things.

[ferraris]

This may be old hat for you, but you could try searching for Keystone STARS certified places: Keystone STARS