September 2019 – ROBS Head of School received the following letter from a new preschool parent three weeks after the first day of school.
Leanne,
I feel like you are quite interested in parent feedback, and therefore I would like to share my first impressions of ROBS- after 5 meetings, 40 emails, and 4 months since Jane’s acceptance. I will caveat this email with the fact that I have no other children (as you know), nor have much exposure to preschools/daycares, but I did have certain preconceived ideas about what type of school I wanted Jane to attend. I wanted more than a daycare, more than mom’s day out. I wanted a place that she could grow in knowledge and social skills, but would also help guide her spiritually and emotionally. A school that used science to back up their daily plans, and where each activity had a larger purpose. Where the teachers were well-trained, and well-equipped to help my child become the very best person she could be. A school that would communicate with me and become a partner in my child’s overall development. I also wanted a school which she could attend for a long time span – ie, not just until kindergarten. I felt this consistency would provide a level of comfort which would help her thrive, as well as enabling her to make life-long friends and build a strong support network.
These ideals are challenging for any school, and frankly, I had begun to worry that my bar was too high- perhaps I was being unreasonable with my requirements. We applied to ROBS, as we had heard good things about the school, and I knew it already fit some of my desires (went through 8th grade, Christian faith-based). When Jane was accepted, we were excited to see what ROBS was all about. Now we are just a few weeks in, but ROBS has definitely exceeded my admittedly high expectations. From the first meet and greet at your house, to the latest parent association meeting this week, ROBS has engaged us and has put tremendous effort into encouraging communication, participation, and building relationships (teacher-parent, school-parent, and parent-parent). I feel as though ROBS has carefully planned out not just Jane’s daily/weekly school time, but also has laid out a strong foundation for our family’s relationship with ROBS. I am thrilled that we were given a full calendar of events for the year, volunteer opportunities, and connected us via technology to make organization and communication much easier (ie, Vidigami – where I can see what Jane is doing during the day, the ROBS website, Sign up Genius, etc). My parents are in Florida, but despite the distance,
I will admit that the sheer amount of information given to us was a bit overwhelming, but I would much prefer to have too much information than not enough… For example, my husband has a login because he registered Jane but I didn’t get one- the instructions very well could have been sent within one of the many emails but I just didn’t see it.
So, this is a long email to say that our entire family’s overall experience has been great so far. I hope this helps give you some feedback from a new parent… my husband and I are both looking forward to our journey with ROBS, and to watch Jane grow with our combined love and support!
Thank you,
ML
