The Keeping-Parents-Out Dilemma

There are many policies that were enacted when schools reopened during the pandemic. Many were necessary during COVID to keep the children, families, and staff members safe. Now that we are in a safer place in terms of COVID, many of the policies have disappeared since they are no longer needed; but, I have been seeing a trend of one policy that has remained–the policy of keeping families out of the school building.

I understand how easy this can make drop-off in the morning and how easy it is to make a new routine and stick with it. Change can be very hard for everyone... But is it the right thing to do? If our goal is to form solid family partnerships, allowing entry into the school is a big part of that. Seeing families on a regular basis helps to form good relationships and allows for more open communication. Families dropping their child off helps with separation anxiety and can ease any nervousness a parent may feel dropping their child off at a new center.

My question is this: if this policy is here to stay, what can we do to ensure that families are involved and that relationships are being formed? Are there other times that parents can come into the school? Are we involving the child’s special adults in their education in other ways?

What are your thoughts, Preschool Peeps? What are your programs doing? We would love to hear from you! Stay tuned for a future episode about separation anxiety coming out in a few weeks that may touch on this topic and give you more to think about.