MDO Has New Policies

That seems like the strangest policy I have ever heard of. My son goes to Pre-K now but started out at the MDO program at the school. Never once has the teacher visited my home or never once has he been strapped in by his teacher. I would love to know the philosophy on that approach they are taking. I love coming inside to pick him up to watch him play with other kids and look at the daily activities. I talk to the teacher personally in the class room to find out about his day and her day. I personally would be a little weary of this so I don't blame you.

No home visits or coming out to the car here! I have NEVER heard of it and I'm with you... I would find it very intrusive.
Personally I would look for a different program...

I don't have any thoughts one way or the other about a home visit, but I can comment on the pick up line. My kids went to one program that had a pick up line, and my kids now go to a different program that does NOT have a pickup line, and instead we go in the classroom to pick them up. By far, I prefer the pickup line. It is SO much easier, especially once you have multiple children, to get in line and have them bring the kids out to you. Now, I will also say, most programs that have pick up lines will also allow you to come inside to pick up (especially if you come a little early), but in my case I was always running late so it was wonderful to get in line. You will get to speak briefly with the teacher, and the work/updates for the day should be in her backpack so you should still get all the info you want regardless of going inside or doing pick up.

When my daughter (now 17) was in MDO years ago, a "home visit" was customary and a part of a high quality program. I understand they still do this at the highly respected MDO/preschool she attended.

They are not asking you do devote an entire evening to a home visit. They don't ask for tours. They usually just sit and chat a 1/2 hour or so. I would think you would no mind participating in something that is customary with preschools. If your week nights are that full, then ask for a weekend day or evening visit. The teacher is not coming to your home to judge your decor, house, nose around etc.. they are coming to introduce themselves to you and your child on your child's "turf".

As for the car seat... The reason teachers would do this is to speed up the carpool line. Carpool lines at schools are horrendous with people who tend to themselves and their children and not even entertaining the idea that there are other people there to get children as well. Maybe there is an option for you to park elsewhere and walk in for pick up.

I don't think they are trying to keep you away from the classroom. I believe they are trying to manage the crunch time of pick up/drop off more efficiently.

At the elementary school, the teachers are all outside with the children lined up in respoective grade levels and we help the get into their car OR a parent walks to the teacher overseeing the children to pick up their child. At morning drop off, there are people there to help children get out of cars and go to their respective spot.

Don't take it personally. They are trying to run things efficiently and think about their students.

Yes, home visits for new preschoolers is very common. In fact, I think it's a hallmark of a quality program and when I had my preschool, I always did a home visit. This gives the child a chance to feel like the teacher "knows" them-- they usually visit for about half an hour, meet the family members who are home, play a bit, get to see where the child eats and sleeps.

If you can, try to schedule the home visit for the weekend. This is really for your daughter's benefit.

As for the car seat buckle-in, I would ask the teacher directly about their philosophy in that regard. It may be that helping the kids into the car eliminated some of the 'negatives' that happen during the pick-up transition. Some schools have to deal with parents that linger, don't leave during pick-up, the pick-up meltdown, or parents who end up chatting with other parents while the kids are needing their attention.Many of the preschool teachers I know (myself included) have a 'get your kids and go' policy. Kids need to be the parent's primary focus at pickup, but from my experience, they often aren't. I wonder if it's to streamline things a bit, so you pull up, the caregiver loads the kid in, and you go. Both my preschool and my son's preschool had the parents and children meet outside. (I kept up a blog regarding preschool activities which I updated weekly, important info was sent home on a note that day; other schools do newsletters.) Just my take on it.

And to Debra: I'm really sorry you had such a bad experience with your teacher/home visit. What you described is really not the intent of most home visits. I've seen messy houses, I've seen beautiful houses... what I am most interested in seeing is how the child is in their own home, what they like to do, and what level of maturity the child is at for their age. This often helps me to make any accommodations/adjustments ahead of time and helps the transition to preschool to be more friendly because we've already connected. I wasn't there to judge, I was there to learn. I know my house was far less than perfect when my son's teacher visited-- neither of us cared. :)

Isn't "Mom's Day Out" through a religious organization? I think it's nice that they want to personalize it so much. I would be HAPPY to have any of my DD's teachers come to our house to get know us before the school year. Just wait until she's in elementary & in a class with over 20 kids - you'll be begging for 20 minutes of the teacher's time.

Have you asked the director of the program any of the questions you've asked here? We don't know why they want to take the kids to car vs. having you pick them up. Why not ask them the reasoning behind it and whether or not it's optional? It seems like you have a lot of concerns that would be best addressed by the people putting on the MDO.

Some of theChurch daycares do the home visits, and Somme of the elementary schools do the home visits for kindergartners. It is not a big deal. It is just a way for your child to meet their teacher on their own turf.

It is also a great time to ask any questions you may have.

The buckling sounds great. Makes the drop off and pickup move along smoother, and means the teachers are watching the kids till they are turned over to the parents.

Not a big deal, not sure why you would not want a home visit, it is not to grade your home in any way.

Since some folks had questions-MDO is Mother's Day Out which is like a preschool education program usually run by a church program. When my son started the MDO program, the teacher called on the phone and offered to make a home visit to meet him before he started school. We invited her over and she spent about 20 minutes talking to him, to me, and telling him how excited she was to have him in her class. She asked him about things he liked to do and about his younger sister. It made for a very smooth transition on the first day of school. In 4th grade, my daughter's public school teacher called and said she would like to meet the children and their families the week before school. I was impressed that she wanted to spend her own time to meet the kids and it was a terrific year.

Our public school's pre-k (for 3 and 4 yr olds) does that to connect with the child and for end of day traffic flow purposes.
Does the MDO have a new director this year? Is the parking lot an issue to navigate, too small to accomodate parking or otherwise dangerous? Some moms might like not parking and getting out if they have infants or other kids with them or are picking up multiple kids from MDO. However, I understand why it would be good to pick up at the classroom.

If I were you, I'd want to find out about whether the MDO still has an open door policy for you to observe at will? If not, I'd be concerned and might look into other MDO options.

I have to agree that this is odd. I don't want any teacher to come and do a home visit, unless, I invite them over. As for the pick up line. I really don't like that. I use that time to ask the teacher(in MDO, I use this term very very loosly) how my child is doing? What they did? How well did they eat. AND in certain times ask what was being done with X child that keeps pushing my child. If they are stuffing your kid in the car and buckling them in, it doesn't give you time to get to know anyone or know what is going on. THis is a big No No for me. NOT to mention the liability the MDO is giving themselves if moments after you leave and have an accident(God Forbid) the child is not correctly buckled, a huge lawsuit waiting to happen. No thanks. I would question it. Park and pick up my kid. Rain or shine.

Since you are in Denton, I''m wondering if you are talking about FBC Corinth KDO by chance? If so that happens to be my home church and my twin boys went to their program. We did the home visit and I thought it was wonderful. I think it really puts the child at ease to be able to interact with his/her teacher in their space instead of competing with 12 other kids and theirs parents on meet the teacher night. My boys showed their teachers their rooms and toys and what they slept with each night and she took a pic of them with their teddy bears. It gave me a chance to talk and ask questions without distraction. I really recommend that you make room for a 30 minute visit, it really is worth the effort.

As far as pickup, we did the carpool line. Most of these teachers have kiddos to pick up from school too so carpool loading allows them to get rooms cleaned up and get to their kids' schools by 3:00. I always got a quick "great day or bumped head today" or whatever kind of summary. The morning times at drop off is when I got longer chat times. It worked out great so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

In Head Start it is required for the teachers to do a "home visit", that means outside of the school building. We could do it at the local park, the back yard, etc...just out of the school building so they could see the child in a different environment.

As for the car seat thing. When our MDO was doing construction they only had one door on the back of the building, in an alley, to have parents pick up and drop off the kids. There was no way the parents could park and go inside. They were not supposed to get out of the car at all. When they did this was so frustrating because every one behind them sat waiting. The whole thing just shut down until that person decided to get back in their car.

I think that having a pick up and delivery system from the car was the best thing ever. I missed it when we went back to the regular way.

The only problem I had was that I often had to get out and go fasten the car seat myself because the teacher could not figure it out herself.

All their stuff came home every day since MDO is a drop in kind of program. Some kids come one day per week, others come a couple. They just can't keep all that stuff sitting around.

If you want to visit his classroom each time he's there you are most likely going to have to go at least 45 minutes ahead of pick up time. They will most likely be having snacks and getting up from naps but soon after they will be organizing and getting ready to go line up to leave. You'd probably be in the way then so you'd have to go sit in the car until it was time to line up with the other moms in the pick up line.

Our preK program has the teachers come to each home during the first quarter. they say it is so they can connect with the kids better, on their own turf. I quickly figured out that it was really so they could nose around & act like some sort of social services making sure the house is good enough. the teacher actually asked for a tour! I asked if she was here to meet my child or evaluate my home decor. Yah, the visit was very awkward. She doesn't much care for us to this day.

I will add that in addition to wanting a tour, she asked my son if he had books to read, if there were animals in the house that scared him, and what kinds of foods we gave him for snacks. Does he have a bed to sleep in? On and on. Bear in mind, we live in a very small town. We are very well known to all the people here, as is just about everyone, and anyone who knows us would know that of course we have books and serve decent food to our kids. She acted as though perhaps we couldn't afford that kind of stuff, despite living in a nice house and having very respectable jobs in the community. We volunteer at the school for Junior Achievement, PTA activites, volunteer professional services and labor at 3 local charities & organizations, and are Cub Scout and 4H leaders. She was aware of all of this, so when she asks my son if he feels safe in his home, of course am going to take it very personally. This is why my response came across so negatively.

Home visits are definately not done around here.

The car seat thing is great. My sons pre-school had a drive up line, which was great. His teacher would bring him to the car and spend just a minute sharing about his morning. However, they asked that we "carefully" pull ahead into the parking lot to park if our child needed assistance with his/her car seat or booster. I hated having my kiddo unbuckled even for that time because he thought it was great and wanted to do that at other times!

M

What MDO do you go to? I would LOVE one with a pickup line!

This is so normal. All my Grandchildren had home visits this year and there is a car pool line. If go in a get your child and visit with the teacher who is watching the other kids while you are chatting with the teaher?

I feel very behind the times reading your post.
What is an MDO?
I've never heard of school teacher home visits. But oddly, we've inadvertently had them as we have always become friends with our teachers and invite them over.
And I've never had a school walk my kids out and buckle them in. If anything, that amount of prepping all those kids to get outside is less instruction time and more lining up time, and that's a waste of time IMHO.

I'm not sure about the home visit, but the car seat thing seems to be normal for carpool lines. At my daughters school the under 2 kids do not do the carpool line but all the other classes do. With that being said, you should still be able to go In her room if and when you want to! Good luck!

If you arrive during carpool time (regular dismissal) then having the teacher buckle your child in is very normal. It gets everyone in and out more quickly and safely.

Home visits are more unusual. However, I'm a teacher (of highschool) and I can tell you that having teachers do home visits is a current trend. The idea is that it helps you connect with the child and family and build stronger bonds. Many really high-performing charter schools have a home-visit policy, and I think the idea may be spreading.

I actually impressed an MDO puts forth the effort for a home visit. When I taught elementary special Ed we did home visits, and it was recommended in our master degree program. The students and parents can get more comfortable worth the teacher and talkore than you can during chaotic drop off and pickup times (especially at a school with a carpool lane) and the teacher can get a better feel for the child's home environment, family and personality, and therefore the child's unique needs. This can be harder to get a feel for in a class full of active children, especially if they do not yet have fully developed communication skills.

Updated

I actually impressed an MDO puts forth the effort for a home visit. When I taught elementary special Ed we did home visits, and it was recommended in our master degree program. The students and parents can get more comfortable worth the teacher and talkore than you can during chaotic drop off and pickup times (especially at a school with a carpool lane) and the teacher can get a better feel for the child's home environment, family and personality, and therefore the child's unique needs. This can be harder to get a feel for in a class full of active children, especially if they do not yet have fully developed communication skills.

I know the school district we were in down in Tucson the teachers came and hung out with the student in the elementary schools. I have never heard of a MDO doing that......Arent those just an occasional day here and there????

I have been in the childcare field for 25 years and we have always been taught in college courses and other trainings the importance of doing "home visits". It will benefit the child for the teacher to meet and know about the child's home life. Teachers plan curriculum based on children's needs and interests. Based on the visit, a teacher can plan exciting learning activities from the very start of the year. It is also beneficial for the child to meet the teacher in their own home surroundings. It makes for a more comfortable first weeks of school.
I recently attended a training where I heard a lawyer speak about child safety and the liability of transportation issues in regards to children leaving the childcare center/home. Childcare workers are now being trained each year (Mandatory in Texas now) the proper methods of car seat restraints and child placement. Many parents may not truly know how to properly secure a child in a seat. I believe this is a great benefit for many reasons. Child safety as they get into the car (no busy parking lots for children to maneuver) speed of getting children on their way, helping parents learn the safest methods of restraining and even helping those parents whose children balk at being placed in the car seat.
I believe both of these policies are a win-win for families and based on recent trainings and courses I've taken I believe you will undoubtedly see more centers and child care homes following these practices.

I don't even know what MDO is but after reading some responses, I guess it's normal for that program. Sounds kind of strange, but I'm impressed that a teacher would take his/her time to do this.

As for the teacher bringing the child to the car, seems to me that that would take longer, especially if you're last in line! I like the idea of the parents PARKING and going in to get their child. If everyone parks in a designated parking space, there shouldn't be any issues with someone "blocking" the roadway. Of course, the problem is that a lot of parents will PARK right there in the driving lane because they are only going to be a "minute." That used to just set me off! If you are going to park, then PARK!

Anyway, it all sounds foreign to me, but then again I don't even know what MDO stands for!

I expect to go pick up my child from her class at the end of her day. When she was in daycare, she was released from the teacher to me and I put her in the car. I have not had a different experience thus far picking up friends' kids from preschool and do not expect different when picking up DD from her new school. I find it odd that they would buckle your child in...wouldn't you do that, in your own car?

I have heard of teacher visits and that I would actually like, but they do not offer it at her school. It's a way for the kid to meet the teacher in a calm environment, one on one. It's a way to try to transition the child to the new caregiver.