Normal not to have a substitute in preschool?

amother

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 10:33 am

My son is 3, and he is in a group with 10 other kids. Normally, there is a teacher and an assistant there. I like both of them. The assistant's first language is not English, however, so the main teacher does most of the verbal instruction.

The main teacher has been absent maybe 8 or 9 days so far this year. Three of those days have been this week -- Tuesday through today. The school has never, ever had a substitute for this teacher. They don't seem to feel that they need one.

I said something to the head teacher and the assistant head teacher yesterday (the ones in charge of all of the kids, from infants up to 4/5 year olds). They said that at least one of them is always in the office so if the assistant teacher needs help, all she needs to do is call down the hall. And that the assistant head teacher comes in periodically to do activities with the kids. For example, she taught the kids the parsha during circle time yesterday (which makes sense, since the assistant teacher's English would make it difficult for her to do so).

This really bothered me. I know that I, personally, would be at a loss for keeping 11 kids happy and busy for just an hour or two. This is all day, for three days in a row now. At least one of the kids is particularly aggressive. Some of the kids need help when they go to the potty, other kids are still in diapers and may explode out of them, there are always issues with one or two of the kids where usually one morah is dealing with the issue and the other one is supervising the class.

And this morning, I had a medical issue with ds that I wanted to discuss with the teacher, but since the main teacher wasn't there I tried to tell it to the assistant teacher, but I wasn't sure she understood me well...So I went to go find the assistant head teacher in the office, and neither she or the head teacher were in the building!

Is it wrong of me to make a stink about this? I already brought it up yesterday with the two heads, and they shrugged it off as unimportant. But this really bothers me! I know that there are playgroups in people's homes where there is only one teacher for a large group of kids. But I don't send there -- I send to this licensed place for a reason. And the student-teacher ratio is one of them.

Would this cause licensing issues? Not that I want to "blackmail" them, but this would make my case a bit stronger. It seems that they don't even TRY to get a substitute -- or else how is it that they've never managed until now??

amother

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 11:01 am

I would be very upset and unless I needed the place desperately for daycare, I would not leave my 3 yr old there with one adult who barely knows english. One of the reasons I don't watch more than a couple extra kids at a time (to help working friends when there's no school) is b/c it's a safety issue. And there are rules for what the teacher to child ratio should be for this age group. I believe it differs bet. states but you can try to look it up.

It's an uncomfortable conversation to have but I would gather a few other concerned parents and speak to the administration together....you'll make a bigger impact together. I guess I go overboard with these things but I would tell them I'm not sending my child or paying til the situation is dealt with properly.

amother

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 2:45 pm

The English issue doesn't usually bother me. The main teacher does most of the teaching that requires real speaking; the other teacher (who I think is really good) usually just assists with things like taking kids to the potty, changing diapers, dealing with specific situations with one or two kids while the main teacher is dealing with the rest fo the class, things like that. Sure, she plays with the kids sometimes, but my ds's English is fine and I'm not worried about that right now. He's only there for four hours a day, and his main teacher speaks perfect English.

Dh says I'm not going to change them just by telling them that I don't like it. And I really, really don't want to take ds out of this playgroup right now. He took a long time to adjust this year, I love the morahs there, and the other licensed options in our town (OOT) are definitely worse than this one -- at least for my ds.

So barring that, what else can I do? Should I really make a big stink and get the other parents to talk to them too? They might not even know that it's happening because some of the kids come earlier than mine and leave later, which means that they often don't even get to see the main teacher (the classes are different for early and late stay, and the main teacher is only there for the half-day program when my child is there). Or should I just go back to them again and tell them I have a problem with it?

Does anyone know whether it's legal to do this if you're licensed?

Lalu

Thu, Jan 19 2012, 3:17 pm

If you could tell me what State you are located in - I would be able to tell you if it is legal or not. In my particular State - this would be illegal as there needs to be 2 adults (who are not related to the children) with the children at all times (in the room - not down the hall). If your State is like mine (and most likely it is) then the program is not following the State standards for adult to child ratio. If it were me, I would say something - at least ask them if what the adult to child ratio is, and how they are meeting this ratio when the teacher is out. Good luck Smile