5 Essential Questions to Ask Your Child’s Preschool Teacher

The first year of preschool can be an exciting time for families, as it marks a child’s first-ever experience with a school setting. This pivotal transition can set the tone for how children engage with school for the rest of their education journeys.

For many children in preschool, this year may pose unique challenges in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yale Child Study Center collected longitudinal data on a national sample of about 57,000 early educators* throughout the pandemic and combined their findings with COVID-19 data from Johns Hopkins and county-level data from the American Communities Survey. This research reveals a glimpse into how this unprecedented period affected young children.

When asked about the mental health of the children in their care during the 2021–22 school year, 64 percent of early educators reported that at least some of the children in their classroom were more externalizing (aggressive, oppositional, hyperactive, etc.) compared to prior to the pandemic, with 22 percent saying this was true for half or more of the children in their classroom.

Approximately 63 percent of educators said that at least some of the children in their classroom are more internalizing than before the pandemic (shy, withdrawn, worried, etc.), with 15 percent saying this was true for half or more of the children in their direct care.

However, there’s good news: You can support your children and their emotional well-being in preschool this school year by building a strong, lasting partnership with your child’s teachers.

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Dr. Walter Gilliam, Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Child Psychiatry & Psychology at Yale Child Study Center and a consultant for Scholastic PreK On My Way™, and Jessica Wollman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Curriculum for Scholastic Education Solutions, outlined five key questions for you to ask your child’s preschool teacher right now — and throughout the school year:

1. What routines or practices do you use to create stability, and to keep my child physically and emotionally safe?  
2. How will we communicate with each other on an ongoing basis? What communication is there outside of regular updates?
3. What routines or practices do you use to develop my child’s social and emotional wellbeing?
4. What are the learning goals for my child this year?
5. What can I do at home to support my child’s learning and social-emotional wellness?

These questions are designed to open the lines of communication, ensuring that you and your child’s teacher have a mutual understanding of the academic and social-emotional goals and priorities throughout the year. Approaching your child’s teacher with an open mind, and asking clear, specific questions will allow you to gain deeper insight into how to extend your child’s learning and growth at home.

This interaction also helps you build a relationship with your child’s teacher, ultimately helping you become a more active and informed part of your child’s first school experience. A child’s lifelong relationship with school, education, and learning can be greatly influenced by this crucial parent-teacher relationship and when the adults work well together, it sets the stage for children to have great experiences. 

You can also read about feelings as a family to start important conversations with your child! Explore books below about crankiness, fear, and more. You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store.