[SKL]

Originally Posted by Devora

How big of a group of kids? If your state is like most, the teacher:child ratio is based on the youngest child in the room. In our state I think for 3-year olds it's 7:1. In a well-ordered classroom it is possible even with that ratio to have a short conversation with a parent. (Not in-depth, but short while still keeping an eye on the kids.)

Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable with the kind of interactions (or lack thereof) that you're describing. Especially at this age I think it should be a parent-teacher partnership.

Their school is perhaps unusual in that it's broken into small classrooms which are each assigned to only 1 teacher. There are a couple extra teachers who can float around as needed. When one teacher needs to leave the room or comes in late or leaves early, they re-shuffle to stay within legal ratios.

In my state, I believe the ratio is 8-1 for the older toddlers (12-1 beginning at age 3, and they can have up to 2 2.5-year-olds in the 12). My kids' teacher currently has 7 students, but in the early morning before all the kids are dropped off, she has another teacher's kids with hers, and she's giving some breakfast while others are playing or crying for their moms. Then as soon as the classes break up, she goes and sits in the corner for "circle time." It doesn't matter what time I get there, it's never a good time to talk even for one minute. In the afternoon, she leaves before I pick up about 90% of the time (she has college classes and a second job), and if she's there, she's working in the infant room.

I like the one-teacher-small-class setup because it allows them to focus more specifically on what is age-appropriate for the specific group. The kids seem to be able to concentrate and behave better than in other centers I've seen where there are larger groups with multiple teachers. I can tell that the teacher really takes her job seriously and is patient and all that. From all indications, the girls are enjoying and benefiting from her class. But, she is young and probably could use some experience/coaching on teaming with parents.

So now I am wondering, should I invite her for a quiet coffee or something, or will that freak her out? Should I start up an e-mail correspondence with her? I think I will ask her tomorrow if she has an email address and if I could send her an occasional email. I think you all are right - that this isn't going to work as designed if we don't have some sort of connection, particularly while the kids are too young to really tell me about their day.