Seattle, WA
Magnolia Cooperative Preschool

Teachers Are:

OVERALL RATING: (4.0)
Full of energy and seemingly happy in job
Patient and affectionate with children
Talks with children and listens carefully when they are talking with him/her
Praises children for accomplishments and good behavior
Provides feedback on what my child does during the day
Shares insights on my child that are helpful and accurate
Identifies my child’s strengths and weaknesses
If necessary, provides additional support to my child during pickup and drop-off
Resolves disputes quickly, calmly and fairly in a manner that allows children to learn from the dispute
Notices children who are not on task and/or engaging with other children appropriately and quickly reengages them
Manages the energy level of the children so that all children feel safe and able to learn
Provides additional support to a child when s/he is clearly failing in her/his efforts
Strikes the proper balance between active and quiet play for children

source:

Parents' Comments on Individualized Teaching

Parent #1
While we only have 1 teacher - 16 children, we have 8 adults present at everytime, so we are all co-teachers and almost as important as our 'lead teacher.' ( this is reference to the 2s year - as the children get older, there are less adults in the classroom) There are 4 paid teachers at Magnolia Co-op, and between them, they have almost 80 years of experience - all of their children went thru the co-op, and they have chosen to make this their career. As a part of the Seattle Central Community College program, we also have 2 advisors assigned to our school who are great parent educators and can help with specific issues, etc. Sometimes we don't use them enough! I think the most important thing about our preschool is that it is play based and really just focused on the social skills - they aren't going to learn how to read while they are there, but they certainly learn how to behave in a social setting and it gets them ready for kidnergarten so they are ready to learn when they get there. Magnolia Co-Op is one of the oldest co-ops in Seattle ( over 30 years), and I think that speaks for itself - it's truly a magical place!

Parent #2
In addition to the one teacher per classroom there are between 5 and 8 (dep. on class age) parents in class assistant teaching so there is a lot of 1:1 attention to each child and a lot of control of the class so the teacher can be most effective.

Parent #3
At my child's level (2 years old) the teacher regularly has many parents in the classroom assisting with supervision, so the ratio is one adult to two children. I am unaware of specifically scheduled parent-teacher conferences, but would feel comfortable talking to the teacher about my child.

Montessori? Waldorf? Play-based?

What school type is right for your child? Is one model better than another? What does the research say?

View an example from the Savvy Source guide to learn more.

On a day when you plan to stay home, have everyone put together the wildest, wackiest outfits they can find and wear them all day. Pair some striped pants or crazy skirt with sneakers or flip flops and a Tiara. Everyone needs to join in. Choose a new 'character' name and be someone different for the day! Don't forget to take pictures!

Comment (2)

Share From Send A Link To Your Comments:

Take Our Expert Quiz

how is your toddler or preschooler progressing developmentally?