LAUP's For Families pages are designed to help you find the resources you need to ensure your child's well-being and early education success. In addition to helping you find an LAUP preschool, you can find resources, parenting tips, parent support groups and learning activities that you can enjoy with your child.

LAUP funds half-day preschool in a wide variety of centers and Family Child Care homes across LA County. We have also contracted with a number of preschools that have particular expertise working with children with special needs and disabilities.

Spaces in quality preschools are in great demand and not all LAUP preschools will have availability. Another great resource for parents is your regional Resource and Referral Agency. These agencies (known as "R&R's") can help you find a preschool program for your child. Click here for a list of R&R's and their contact information.

What to look for in a quality preschool

LAUP takes a lot of the guesswork out of finding a good preschool for your child. We evaluate every classroom in the LAUP-network using a 5-Star Quality Assessment and Improvement Scale developed in collaboration with educators and parents. This scale helps us identify strengths of the program, as well as areas that might need improvement. We look at teacher qualifications, class size and adult/child ratios, parent engagement and a host of factors relating to the environment in which our children explore and learn.

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Parents of children in LAUP-supported classrooms can feel confident that their 4-year-olds are in preschool programs that have been evaluated for quality.

But not every preschool is right for every child, and because LAUP funds a wide variety of programs--including school-based programs, private centers, and Family Child Care homes--you should be sure to explore the options before settling on a preschool for your 4-year old. Here are a few helpful hints about finding a quality preschool:

Trust, but verify. Ask for recommendations from friends and family. Talk to parents of students at the preschool (drop by at pick up or drop off time). But most importantly, trust your intuitions. Visit the preschool and spend some time in the classroom yourself; if you have doubts about a specific program it might not be the right one for your child.

Qualified Teachers, Low Turnover. The staff should have the educational background to promote your child's learning and development. Ask what degrees and training teachers have. You should also look for a preschool with good staff benefits. Preschools that pay their staff well and offer them reasonable vacation time and health benefits are likely to have teachers who stick around. Low turnover is a key factor in promoting consistent, stable care.

Stimulating Young Minds. Those teachers should be experts at stimulating your child's imagination. Four-year olds learn best from play and interaction, not instruction or rote memorization. Look to see how the teachers work with children: Do they work at a child's eye level? Do they encourage exploration and guide a child at his or her own pace, or is the program regimented with all children following the same inflexible schedule?

In the Clean and Clear. Last but certainly not least, look around when you visit the preschool to make sure it is clean and safe. Check the bathroom for spills and mess. Do the children wash up at regular intervals? Can the staff describe their emergency procedures? It is also important that the preschool's license with the state be current, which means it has been inspected for health and safety concerns. You can check the licensing status of a preschool by logging on to the Los Angeles County Child Care Directory.

Following these tips will help you choose the right preschool for your child, and help them get off to the right start. Another great resource for parents is the National Association for the Education of Young Children.