CPSE and Preschool

Previously I had posted about the joys of touring the pish posh preschools under the blog post titled: Preschool. Since embarking on that journey several months ago, Eliza has had CPSE evaluations completed and I have begun to limit my tours and play visits to the non-typical a/k/a developmental preschools. There is certainly a different dynamic involved when you tour a school not with an eye to how swanky the doll playhouse is or whether or not all of the children wear Petite Bateau onesies.

I gave the integrated school one last look-see. On the appointed day I entered the school, toured three halls, peeped into a half dozen classrooms, the teachers' lunch room and what appeared to be an administrative office. The tour was, shall we say "self-guided." Odd you say? Yes indeed it was very odd to me that I was not only able to enter the school undetected but wander aimlessly through the halls for a good 15 minutes before a single adult ever asked who I was or if they could help me. Not the security one would hope for, is it now? So while I am sure I could convince the city that this school would be right for Eliza (it is not) I would be very hesitant as a tax payer to see $15,0000 to $20,000 of my city's hard earned shekels be given to this school under the CPSE program.

My next and last tour was of a developmental preschool touted to be a good competitor of the school I prefer that Eliza attend. I figured a tour of the competition would be helpful and maybe they could offer something new or different. The security was top notch so things started out on a good foot. Then I got to the waiting room. There was a rather large fish tank. The fish were dead. All I could really focus on was how the hell do you kill a carp? I mean really now. Those things can freeze outdoors in a pond and come back to life in the spring. And if you can kill a carp, that does not bode well for your ability to care for a child who is likely not as durable as a carp. I did continue the tour and was not all that impressed. I was having a bit of sensory overload from the sheer amount of stuff in the classrooms. And then there were the televisions. Since I can provide television at home, I do not consider it a bonus that my child would spend her preschool day involved in some old fashioned TV watching. The excuse was that there was bad weather so the children could not go outside. This is the northeast. We have bad weather for four months.

Sigh.

So I am armed with all of the information I need for my IEP meeting with the city. I have a wonderful service coordinator and am told that the Department of Education liaison assigned to Eliza's case is excellent. With any luck by mid-March the biggest preschool concern I will have between now and September is what kind of backpack to get for Miss Eliza.

I leave you with this observation:

Carp:


Not a Carp: