A Savvy Primer: How to Best Use The Savvy Source in Your Preschool Search

Chapter 5.1: Feeling Overwhelmed? How to Best Use The Savvy Source in Your Preschool Search?

In the history of humankind, there are many examples of highly motivated parents trying to do right by their children. So, what would happen if parents focused that motivation on one very important, common aspect of child development: preschool? That's what The Savvy Source is all about: deploying large numbers of parents in a common quest for great preschools that fit each individual child and family.

If you ask just two parents for an opinion about a preschool, you will hear perspectives that reflect their values, their practical interests and their children's needs. Their answers also will reflect a natural and healthy concern that anything negative not be shared back with the preschool's director or teachers. If you ask several or many, many parents confidentially about a preschool, then you get the real picture of quality and even fit (at least for common fit needs). For generations, even highly motivated parents have been stuck with second-rate information based on opinions of the few. The Savvy Source to the rescue!

When and How Do You Use The Savvy Source?

The Savvy Source has the key information you need to start your preschool hunt, investigate and screen schools, and make your final choice. Later, you can use The Savvy Source to reassess your decision if your needs change or the preschool you chose changes.

1. Start your preschool hunt. Unless you live in very small town, you simply cannot look closely at every preschool available to your child. You need to narrow the field to high-potential preschools most likely to offer great quality and a great fit with your needs. Read Chapters 1 & 4 of The Savvy Source Preschool Guide and determine your top fit needs and quality concerns. Identify three to seven high-potential preschools (bigger numbers when admission is more uncertain).


2. Learn more about your top preschool options Identify top questions about quality and fit for high-potential preschools. The Savvy Source Preschool Guide provides handy tools to help. Recheck the tabbed pages on The Savvy Source for information about each preschool. Gather additional needed information from preschools and parents directly. The Savvy Source provides school contact information and school websites on each preschool's Summary Page. Use this to request preschool brochures, set up tours, determine open house dates, conduct short phone interviews with preschool directors and complete your other information gathering. Note deadlines listed on each school's Applications and Admissions page on The Savvy Source and mark your calendar! Continue to eliminate preschools that will not work for you. Add preschools to your list, when needed, using The Savvy Source as a start. As you learn more about preschool quality and fit, you may find that factors less important to you at first become more important to you later.


3. Make your final choice using The Savvy Source's school comparison matrix. Many parents do not make final decisions until well after the application deadlines. Use the time between application and admissions to continue learning about each preschool. That way, when you learn where your child is admitted, you will be ready to take appropriate action.


4. Know when to switch. Sometimes, a child's needs change or a family's needs change. At other times, a preschool changes significantly, for example when a new leader startsor a new teaching approach is adopted. If the preschool you chose isn't of the same quality or fit as when your child started, you can use The Savvy Source to make a quick comparison between your child's current preschool and other options. Some parents may want to do an annual "checkup" on their preschool using The Savvy Source.

Tip: Purchase a small file box for your preschool applications, with one folder per preschool. Keep application forms, notes, and critical to do list items here, and manage the entire application process from start to finish in one place. No more misplacing key information in the diaper bag ... or was it the car ... or the playground ... or the bedside table ... ?

What kind of preschool information will you find on The Savvy Source? An amazing, unprecedented level of specificity about preschool quality and fit, with tailored comparisons available to each parent. The next section briefly walks you through each element of The Savvy Source's offerings. But a picture is worth a thousand words, so we encourage you to visit our preschool guide to see for yourself!