Facilitate Positive Observation Visits

Roger Neugebauer and Bruce Schon, in Art of Leadership: Promoting Early Childhood Services, write about how to help families have a great experience when they come to observe an early childhood program. Here are a few of their tips:

• When prospective parents schedule visits, they should be sent a description of the program, as well as a list of suggestions on what they might do and look for in their observations.
  
  
• When parents arrive at the center, there should be someone ready to greet them by name. The greeter should give them a tour of the facility, provide a brief description of the classroom structure for the room in which they will observe, review the pointers on observing, and answer any last-minute questions…
  
  
• Thought should be given to the effect the environment has on parents when they first enter the center. If their immediate impression is of shabbiness or carelessness, the likelihood of their being impressed with the center’s positive features will be lessened considerably.”

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