Best preschools

[For the keiki]

Re: Best preschools

Lavagal, great questions to ask any school. Some answers as it pertains to all of the Cole Academy campuses (downtown, west oahu and east oahu):

Security:
* Surround digital video monitoring and recording of every classroom and exterior area, and entrance/exit
* Biometric fingerprint scanning at entrance (requiring personal identification code specific to each adult, plus a match to a fingerprint scan)
* Direct-to-security alert system in case of emergency, monitored 24 hours
* Security system is monitored by both a professional monitoring agency, plus internally via in-person supervision and video.
* Staff supervision, staff-child ratios as low as 1-to-3, no higher than 1-to-8 for oldest groups (4-5 year olds).


Staff:
* Local and national criminal background checks prior to hiring.
* Pre-employment and random drug testing (eliminates such applicants in the first place!)
* Education and prior employment verification, by written form spanning several years
* Educational attainment includes bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in Early Childhood Education on staff, in addition to associates degrees for secondary caregivers and aides.
* Ongoing education: All staff must attend regular continuing-ed classes and workshops in early childhood development

Method:
* Whole-child development via curriulum focused on preparation for kindergarten and pre-K, academics, social/emotional development, artistic and creative expression and play, extracurriculars including baby sign language, foreign language, dance, music.

Price/Value:
* It's not going to be the least-expensive school among the many options available to parents, however:
* Tuition covers extensive service hours, up to 6 a.m.-through-6 p.m. depending on the campus.
* Tuition covers year-round service, only major holidays are taken off (no long summer breaks, spring break, etc. They work when parents work.)
* Tuition supports low ratios and small class sizes, which require lots of staff at a high qualification level and pay level (Cole salaries are as much as 30% above other schools).

Every preschool in Hawaii offers wonderful and unique features. Different schools will be right for different children. No matter the school you're considering, take a tour, meet the director and staff -- make sure it's the right fit for your child. Ask detailed questions and expect detailed answers.

[lavagal]

Re: Best preschools

Lavagal, great questions to ask any school. Some answers as it pertains to all of the Cole Academy campuses (downtown, west oahu and east oahu):

Every preschool in Hawaii offers wonderful and unique features. Different schools will be right for different children. No matter the school you're considering, take a tour, meet the director and staff -- make sure it's the right fit for your child. Ask detailed questions and expect detailed answers.

Mahalo, For the Keiki, for joining us and giving such a detailed answer. I visited the website, www.thecoleacademy.com and got a look at its plans for the future. My 4-year-old joins the ranks of Koko Head Elementary with her big sister next year, so my kids' preschool days are coming to a close. But it's great to see the expansion, no doubt in answer to demand. And obviously you're an "insider." Not that there's anything WRONG with that.

I guess it's off topic but recent local and national news about child abuse cases just makes you think that placing kids in a safe, loving and nurturing environment might be the best part of their day.

[i-hungry]

Re: Best preschools

Thank you for all your insights. I have been looking into Kawaiahao preschool and just called them to try to set up a tour, but the woman who answered was curt and rude. I'd hate to judge the school based on one person, but it really turned me off. I'm sure everyone else at the school are great... It's unfortunate that person is the one dealing with the public.

maybe they put her on the phone when the enrollment is full.


eh! next year's class is full. so what i supposed to tell the other parents?

oh. umm, get dah mean lady to run the phones. dat always work.

[kamuelakea]

Re: Best preschools

Like craigwatanabe so eloquently and personally displayed, the best pre-school, the best elementary school, the best any school is right fricken home on the kitchen table with parentS and child.

Everything else is just exposure.

[shaveice]

Re: Best preschools

for the keiki, thanks for the detailed post. very interesting. do you know the specific date they plan to open the east oahu/kaimuki campus?

also, if you care to, would you comment on the similarities/differences between the philosophy of education that is practiced at the cole academy vs. the early school vs. Kawaiaha'o?

[BuzzBunny]

Re: Best preschools

maybe they put her on the phone when the enrollment is full.


eh! next year's class is full. so what i supposed to tell the other parents?

oh. umm, get dah mean lady to run the phones. dat always work.

That's funny! I'm sure it's not true, but still made me laugh!

[For the keiki]

Re: Best preschools

for the keiki, thanks for the detailed post. very interesting. do you know the specific date they plan to open the east oahu/kaimuki campus?

also, if you care to, would you comment on the similarities/differences between the philosophy of education that is practiced at the cole academy vs. the early school vs. Kawaiaha'o?

That East Oahu campus opens next month.

In terms of the philosophy comparison question... being someone affiliated with one school, it would be inappropriate for me to state comparisons with other schools. All of those on your list have terrific programs, and choosing among them is really a matter of personal choice and fit for the child.

I found a web link that may be a good source in general for you to compare philosophies in early childhood education (It's based out of California, but besides the state-specific references it appears to be a good, brief summary): http://www.parentspress.com/edupreschooltypes.html

As you look at schools, ask each director for more specifics about their approach, and judge for yourself the environment in which your child will thrive.

[shaveice]

Re: Best preschools

for the keiki, thanks for your reply and the link (very useful).

for anyone with a newborn, my best advice is to submit your application as soon as they're a day old! i sincerely wish i did!

[kamuelakea]

Re: Best preschools

I have a question. Why do you guyz give a you know what about preschools so much (in terms of academics) when we all know the people in Hawaii who make the best livings are high school graduates at best.

You look around. Who has the big house with the big toys in the driveway???? Is it the PhDs? Is it the Lawyers? Is it the Doctors? No, its the electricians and plumbers and the plantation union boys.

Cayetano, Ariyoshi and Waihee all live in multimillion dollar mansions in Nuuanu and Waialae Ike. The stupid peasants all live 5 familys to one house in Kapahulu and Kalihi.

What jobs you expect your kids to get with their great education???

[shaveice]

Re: Best preschools

kamuelakea, that's an interesting question/post. speaking for myself, when i think of a great preschool for my daughter, i'm not thinking "this will increase her chances of becoming a multimillionaire". speaking for myself, i'd like to put her into a great preschool so that she can grow into a bright, talented, well-balanced person. almost by default, there'll be some things that she excels in and some things that she doesn't do well in. that's not a big deal to me, but however far she can develop her various skills, great.

money first? no, not for me. of course, no wants their child to grow up to be unemployed, homeless, addicted, etc. i'll be happy for my daughter if she is somehow able to become a multimillionaire but only if she's happy and healthy. how could i possible find satisfaction in having a daughter who's a multimillionaire and a cheat, a fraud?

anyway, i'm getting too far into left field now. bottom line, i'd like my daughter to get into a great learning/growing environment cuz it'll be the foundation for future growth & development. just my two cents.

.....

i forgot to mention: i think there's something to your point that educational degrees do not automatically translate into whopping salaries. just look at what the uh profs make. peanuts!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Best preschools

kamuelakea, education is an important thing to have these days. Back in the good old days, a high school diploma was enough to get by and even prosper. But now even 4-year degrees are dime a dozen. Educated people are in such high demand that if you lack a higher form of education, your chances of getting any job would be difficult at best.

Case in point: At the Gas Company on Oahu a position for the janitor was put out to the general public. I had a friend who's education went so far as a High School diploma and not a stellar one at that. But he managed to earn a living working for an auto shop where he can tear apart and build any automobile engine with his eyes closed. He can weld, paint you name it he could do it. He also knew he'd never have that dream job sitting behind some cushy desk so he committed his life to blue collar work.

As a janitor he knew that's as far as he could go with his limited education and he said he'd be the best janitor the company could hire because his aspirations weren't as lofty as others.

So who did the Gas Company pick? Some college graduate with a degree in Sociology. HR felt this guy had the discipline to stick it out in college so he must have the disipline to be the best Janitor. Less than half a year later after all that investment in this guy, he found a job at Pearl Harbor that suited his degree.

This is the kind of mentality going around in corporate America. There are so many college graduates looking for jobs that employers can be real picky for even the most mundane jobs.

Those who lack education are left out cold and have to forge their own success the hard way. Not all of us are destined to be electricians or bus drivers or union scale laborers. The rest of us are saleried and the only way up is thru promotion based on your ability to learn.

Early Childhood Education plants the seeds of learning so these keiki can survive in a highly competitive world using their brains instead of their brawn. Being Hawaiian you should know that. Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop knew that, Queen Liliuokalani knew that. Education is what's going to save your race from absolute extinction by giving the Keiki of Hawaiian ancestry the needed academic tools to not only survive but to suceed in this modern world.

And kamuelakea the rich don't get rich by flaunting expensive toys but rather their successful investment portfolios. That's how the rich stay rich by investing their weath instead of spending it on depreciatble tangibles like Escalades with pimped out wheels.

You may not see the expensive toys in a doctor's driveway, however you won't see them hurting when economic times work against those who didn't hedge their wealth. They ride it out and when the storm's over they buy your forclosed home for pennies on the dollar. That's akamai and it takes education to figure that out.

[kamuelakea]

Re: Best preschools

You are a wise man craigwatanabe. I agree with you. I totally agree with you on early education. I am impressed by your knowledge of brain development and the critical years.

I have nothing to say except I completely agree with you on education.

[pzarquon]

Re: Best preschools

Much as I appreciate the greater philosophical issues surrounding early childhood education, I wanted to chime in late to quickly address the original question... to say, well, only you'll know what works best for you and your kids.

When looking for a preschool for our first child, we ended up practically selling a kidney to enroll her at Montessori in Makiki. And while I know it's a great system and does wonders for many families, it never clicked with us. After looking around, we actually ended up trying Kama`aina Kids, which is basically preschool for the masses. And our daughter thrived, and we loved the staff, and overall it was a great move, despite our hesitations about a facility where the "playground" was a parking lot.

Of course, overall, preschool was shortlived, as we rearranged things to allow my wife to become a full-time early childhood technician and residential engineer. But if we learned anything, it's that you never know, all kids and families are different, and five-star ratings and high-level recommendations sometimes simply won't match what your child wants or needs.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Best preschools

That's true, some children thrive in a structured environment, some prefer a more creative environment. Both are excellent as they cater to that certain child's brain development cycle.

Montessori-based education is more for those brains that have a knack or have developed their organizational senses faster than others. Montessori is also great for kids who have any ADDS where structure is vital to their learning. Montessori is also great for kids who get bored rather quickly. These kids' learn at a faster rate than most others and honestly if you put your kid in a Montessori environment and that child isn't up to the speed of their peers, they will have a hard time assimilating in that classroom.

The litmus test of how good a child's early education was when they hit age 8 or third grade. At that point their brains have developed to handle not just the cognative skills, but also fine motor skills. They have a balance between academics, arts and creative movement. If there is a deficiency in any of these "whole body" learning points then one should look at physical issues like poor hearing or vision. Either will pose roadblocks to learning as both are vital to understanding what is being taught on the blackboard and what is verbalized to you by your teachers.

So test your children early on in their formative years for sensory difficulties. Treatment early on will assist that child in adapting their handicap and function as normal children do. I wasn't diagnosed as being near-sighted until I was 9-years old, in the meantime I struggled to keep up with my classmates. It took a long journey for me to catch up with my peers but I did. I keep wondering how much further along I would have gotten had my parents knew I couldn't see the chalkboard as a developing child.