We did it again! For the fourth time, Quality First awarded Kindertots Preschool 5 Stars, its highest ranking.
The ranking came after Kindertots went through a very intense assessment process.
Back in February, Quality First contacted Kindertots and told us that our assessment window had opened. That meant that three times over the next three weeks, an assessor could show up on any day, and pick any one of our classrooms in a random draw to do an observation.
The assessment the observer used was called CLASS, which stands for Classroom Assessment Scoring System. A CLASS assessment looks at the interactions between students and their teachers. For two hours, the assessor notices everything that goes in the classroom, and she takes notes on all the interactions between the teachers and the children.
Each observation consists of four cycles, and ten different learning domains are scored in each one. The highest score that a teacher can get in any one domain is 7. It is very difficult to score a 7- it basically means you are perfect.
We are proud to announce that our teachers scored straight 7s in six different domains and scored very highly in all the other ones!
The assessor noticed how “there were many indications that the teachers and children enjoyed warm, supportive relationships with one another.” She noticed that, “the teachers provided consistent support for child autonomy and leadership,” and how there was, “a lot of child talk and expression.”
Other highlights from the report (which altogether ran over 40 pages) included these statements:
“The classrooms resembled a “well-oiled machine”- everyone knew what was expected of them and how to go about doing it.”
“The teachers often provided opportunities for children to be creative and generate their ideas and products.”
“Teachers often used discussions and activities that encouraged analysis and reasoning.”
It was not a surprise to us that the Kindertots teachers did so well on the assessment. Anyone who walks into Kindertots can see the beautiful classrooms that are full of smiles, and humming with happy busyness. This is all because we have dedicated staff who work hard to make everyday fun and stimulating for the children.
“As a staff we work hard every day to implement an atmosphere of warmth, love and engagement,” said Morah Rachel Tuch. “This whole experience has been so rewarding because I know how incredibly amazing these teachers are. I am just so appreciative that I get to work with these people every day.”
Thank you to all the Kindertots staff for their hard work, dedication, and stellar teaching! You guys are amazing!!