DS new school update

[jnet24]

So I know I have been monopolizing the board lately, but we are going through some transitions, and this is the only place I feel like people can understand.

We went to visit DS's new school. He is being transitioned out off birth to 3 EI into public school. It is a integrated classroom, with SN and typical children. I was very unimpressed. I am very nervous about the transition.. I have posted about it before, so am I being silly or would these things bother you??

-The teacher is very young. It is her first year and she is very disorganized.

-The teacher forgot that they had a two hour delay, so when we arrived no children were there.
-She didn't have our admission packet ready, even though I specifically asked her for one when I set up the meeting.
-When I mentioned DS food allergies and his lunch she just kinda said well I hope you pack instead of buy.
-The ST is very against pacifiers and insists that we get rid of it immediately. I tried to tell her he needs it for sensory issues but she said "well he needs something else, it is time for the paci fairy"

-She orginally told me DS could have his pacifier just at rest time. She brought it up today, and then was like "we wontt talk about it in front of the ST" bc the ST was in the room. ??? It made me fell like she really wasn't going to let him. Then why did she agree to it??

- Then when they went to the restroom she didn't even go in to help the kids. SHe just sent them in, including DS, who needed help. I felt weird going in as there was 3 or 4 other little boys using the urinals. She didn't even go in there to help him until he started to play with the water.
*you could see him from where we were standing but the urinals were behind a wall. She sent him in not me. I ended up just going in once coaxing him out wasn't working.
- All the kids are PT and there is no diaper changing area. DS is not PT completely.
-All the other kids in his class are old 4s or 5 already.

So i am having a hard enough time already, and now I feel kinda icky. I LOVE his EI teacher and wish he could stay there forever Not really I just wish I felt a better vib from teacher \ ST.

[APToddlerMama]

No, I don't think you're being silly at all. Each of those things would bother me, and combined, I would be really upset and nervous about sending my child there. Are there other classrooms that would be an option? Can you speak with the principal? Another school that may be able to meet his needs? Do they have drop in options where you could come just for speech therapy (or whatever else he's getting) and you could stay and watch, and then he'd leave for the day? I think trying to find some other option would be worth it.

By the way...I have to ask you...does your OT say your son should continue to use his pacifier "whenever" he'd like to? We've been pushed soooo hard by our SLP to give up the nuk and I feel like my son needs it for sensory reasons too, but our OT hasn't said anything (maybe because I try to hide the use from her too). Just curious as it would make me feel a lot better about letting him have it.

[earthmama4]

I am quite disorganized in some ways as a teacher (paper work, filing, etc). My desk was always a mess. Its just not my strength. However, I was a very effective teacher and managed my classroom and students with ease. My tolerance for some disorder actually made me a better Early Childhood teacher. To teach small children is to submerge yourself in disorder daily. Think fingerpaint! I know very organized ECE teachers who never let the kids paint because it was "too messy"

Focus on how she is with the children - does she manage the classroom effectively? Does she capture their attention? Does she effectively manage transitions? Does she communicate effectively with the children and with you? Do you feel she cares? Try to look at the picture as a whole, rather than come to conclusions based on one meeting. Address the concerns you have now (such as "Where would DS be changed if necessary?" and "It seems the other kids are a lot older than my child" ) and give her a chance to provide an answer before making assumptions. I know its hard - he's your baby! I always felt so lucky as an ECE teacher to have parents trust me with their little ones. It is a precious thing.