The transition process is routine, to ensure the children are all treated equally, but individualized and flexible enough to accommodate each child’s needs.
Each classroom has established milestones to guide the teachers’ decisions about readiness to transition into the next classroom. For the younger classrooms, the milestones are based first on development, then on age. For the preschool classrooms, the milestones are based primarily on age.
About six weeks before the official transition date, each classroom begins to assess which children in the classroom might be ready for transition. The decision is based upon a combination of factors: whether a child is developmentally ready, and has met or is beginning to meet the transition milestones; whether the child meets the chronological age range for the classroom; and whether the family feels transition would be beneficial for the child.
When the decision is made that your child is ready for the next classroom, you’ll receive information that outlines the transition process about one month before the scheduled transition date. Transition visits will happen gradually, as children visit the new classroom in increasing increments over the week before the transition date. We schedule the transition visits at various times to allow the children to experience all of the important elements of the day (eating, napping, play time, and even a few drop-offs and pick-ups) in the new environment. This allows us a chance to monitor the children and have them set the visitation pace. Some children may need more visits, or families may have scheduled absences during the visitation week, and these factors will be used to adjust the schedule accordingly. Whatever your child’s transition schedule, we’ll keep you informed daily about how the visits are going and answer any questions you may have.
The educators in your child’s new classroom will schedule a Transition Meeting where your whole family can get to know the faces, layout, and routines of the new classroom environment. You’ll receive useful information about the schedule, curriculum, and daily routines in the classroom. The classroom teachers will call you to set up a time to meet via Zoom, on the phone, or briefly at drop-off/pick-up time.
In order to allow each child the maximum flexibility in transitioning at their own pace, both the child’s current classroom and new classroom are staffed to be able to accommodate all of the children. Accordingly, your child’s official new classroom and its corresponding tuition rate will be changed at the end of the transition period, regardless of how much time is spent in each classroom during the transition visits.
We know that there are many reasons that families become anxious about classroom transitions. Often, it’s because there is uncertainty about new staff, new routines, or new challenges ahead. Sometimes, there’s a concern that a child who isn’t transitioning with their peers might feel left out. To support you, we:
Both the new and the old classroom teachers will watch your child’s transition process carefully, ensuring your child is assisted with the transition in a manner consistent with their ability to understand. Some children will need several visits to the new classroom to get used to it, some will become comfortable more quickly. We’ll pace transition based on your child’s individual needs, and we’ll keep you informed of how they’re doing at every step along the way!