Green Valley Christian School

GV Christian Preschool: this is the third year my child is attending the preschool. The first year he attended part-time and it was perfect for what we were looking for at the time. The second year he attended full-time we loved his teacher and were amazed at what he was learning, especially in relation to his age; the teacher went way above and beyond. This year, as much as we do like the teacher as a person, he is not being challenged academically, it's too much like a daycare and that is where the problem comes in; the discrepancy in quality between last year and this year is so vast that it's like he attended two different schools. The preschool does have a daycare license but it also has a curriculum that they follow. However, there is "just getting by" with the curriculum they're supposed to be teaching (this year) and really "teaching it" (as last year). I think this year there are too many children in his class (about 25 four-year-olds, + an aide), the teacher is ill-prepared (the kids have a lot of "wait" time throughout their day while the teacher is prepping), and there is very little creativity/stimulation involved with the projects he works on at school. There are a few teachers in the preschool that have been there for several years but there is an incredibly high rate of turnover. Even so, pretty much all of the teachers I've encountered (in 2s, 3s, 4s, and pre-K) all seem to genuinely enjoy children and working with them, most are very nurturing toward the students and receptive to the parents. This is hugely important for me, I want my child to feel secure with who he is with when he is away from me. So in a nutshell, PROS: teachers who like kids (it doesn't seem to be the case in all of the preschools i visited/researched), tuition is fairly priced, they do learn quite a bit about the bible and Christianity, you don't get any pressure and are not treated differently if you're not a member of their church. CONS: high turnover, inconsistencies between quality of teaching amongst the classes, large class sizes.

I am debating sending him next year for pre-K, but I definitely do not plan to send him to this school for kindergarten, we are zoned for one of the better public schools in the district and want to give that a try. Also, it's not clear whether the teachers at GV Christian School are degreed or not. I've asked a few people but haven't gotten a straight answer which i find odd. If I had another child I would consider sending them here for preschool, but only after having more insight into the quality of each individual teacher and having a say in which class they would be enrolled in.

FYI: if you enroll in kindergarten you have to pay a higher enrollment fee than the other grades. It is a non-refundable fee, but if your child attends the school for first-grade then a portion of that enrollment fee from kindergarten is credited to your account for the first-grade fees.