spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

I am not going to get into the boring details but I am having some problems with Talia at school.

Since she is in Montessori the age range in her class is 3-6 years old. Its primarily 3 &4 year olds but there are a handful of kindergardeners and one first grader in the class as well.

SInce she is the youngest one in the class she is taking a little more time to adjust than some of the other kids who are also three but really 3 and a half or closer to 4. The school is sort of making a stink about it - SO I went to observe her yesterday....

Something that struck me was that T might need a little extra help adjusting...in theory she could get that from the older kids - BUT what really bothered me is there are only 2 teachers for 25 kids!!

Doesn't that seem like a very high ratio??? Anyone have any thoughts on this??

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

It seems like a pretty large group. I'm not sure what the ratios are but I know Maddie's pre-school didn't have that many kids in a class.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

That does seem high for 3 year olds. I would think that if the class was going to range from 3-6 years old, that they should have more teachers.

ETA: My son is in a 2 y/o program. They have 2 teachers for 11 children.

Message edited 9/19/2008 7:31:31 AM.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

WE have 2 teachers for 14 children...

I personally don't think that is enough..

In the toddlers we had 2 teachers plus an assistant for 12 kids..

There are probably state laws that they go by and that is why they only have 2 teachers...

I know what your saying.. jacob is the youngest in his class too and all the other kids are 3.5-4 years old also...

I would definately say something if it is bothering you.

Message edited 9/19/2008 7:37:17 AM.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

I know the state laws are different for the two year olds than the three + yr olds.

Last year they also had about 20 students but 4 teachers.

That is part of why this is such a big change for her.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

Not enough teachers, in my opinion. Even if it just skirts the line of lawful ratios, which seems unlikely, given the $$ you are probably spending on this school, that's an unacceptable ratio, which can only mean that the children are NOT getting the attention they require. There's no way they can when TWO teachers are tending to 25 children.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

Julia's school only goes up to 14 kids in the classroom, 25 seems like a lot, they should have an extra teacher in the class too with that many kids.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

it doesn'f seem like enough teachers imo.

my daughter is in a class of 10 kids and she has a teacher and three aides, they are mostly 3 and 4 year olds.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

I'll preface this with the statement that while I know a little about Montessori schools, I haven't looked into them that much.

I'd talk to the directors about your concerns. I don't understand how 2 teachers can effectively teach so many different groups and keep the others safe (especially the younger kids). Assuming that roughly 20 of the kids are in the 3-4 range, I'd think that 2 teachers would be busy all day just with them. Add into the mix teaching Kindergarten to some kids and then 1st grade to another and it feels like nobody is getting the attention they deserve and you are paying for.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

I definately think it is high for a three year old. But for the 5 or 6 year old its nice.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

I do feel like that is a lot of kids. Also, since they range in ages 3-6, 3 year olds and 6 year olds are doing TOTALLY different things, developmentally. They have entirely different needs. I don't think that 2 teachers could adequately be meeting the needs of 25 kids who span 4 age groups, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

That seems outrageously high. It's geared toward preschool not grade school.
Like I said at our Montessori there are 5 teachers total and I believe the busiest day/time maybe has 30 kids but I'm not even sure it's that many.
I know that I have seen teachers holding crying kids, giving one on one attention when needed, etc.
I think I would definitely have a problem with this ratio.

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

Here's the other thing I'm thinking. I'm not sure how your Montessori classroom is set up but in Miranda's there are at least 5 sections and each teacher is always in one of the sections to teach the students that are in that area. How do two teachers cover the whole classroom?

Re: spinoff to my post about preschool - I have a concern

I used to work at a Montessori School-

The ratio for the childrens community (18months to 3) was 1 teacher for every 5 students.

The ratio for Primary (3-5/6) is 1 teacher for 9 kids

These ratios were based on social services regulations though- traditional Montessori programs call for a very low student to teacher ratio (1 teacher/25 students).

I found this on www.montessori.edu:

"Teaching Ratio - 1:1 and 1:30+ ::

Except for infant/toddler groups (Ratio dictated by local social service regulations), the teaching ratio is one trained Montessori teacher and one non-teaching aide to 30+ children. Rather than lecturing to large or small groups of children, the teacher is trained to teach one child at a time, and to oversee thirty or more children working on a broad array of tasks. She is facile in the basic lessons of math, language, the arts and sciences, and in guiding a child's research and exploration, capitalizing on his interest in and excitement about a subject. The teacher does not make assignments or dictate what to study or read, nor does she set a limit as to how far a child follows an interest."

Message edited 9/19/2008 3:30:48 PM.