I wanted a preschool that was participating in Florida's Voluntary Prekindergarten program so I searched on myflorida.com: www.floridajobs.org/earlylearning/VPKProgram.html
There is a registration link as well as provider information including the curriculum they use. After I picked a few providers based on location and curriculum, I went down to each facility to walk through and ask questions. I also have to mention that when taking my child to the park I did ask other parents with same age children about their preschool and I got a lot of feedback so I was able to take notes. It also helped me in making a list of questions and concerns to ask the providers when I went for orientation. I didn't have a lot of time so I only picked a few and then made my choice. I think curriculum is important in Pre-k but I didn't want to overlook safety/security needs as well as an inviting and warm environment. If education is an important decision factor, curriculum info can be looked up on-line and if an explanation is not on the internet then the provider should be able to give you an idea about their approach to learning. My mom is a Kindergarten teacher and she told me not to get to worked up about curriculum just yet because preschool is mostly about getting them familiar with this new environment and learning social skills. The rest will come in time. I am actively involved with reading and teaching my child at home so it was still really important to me. Over all I am happy with my choice. I think improvements could be made, specifically involving security-no locked entrance dividing front desk and hall to classrooms.
The front desk is always monitored and the staff is warm and encourage parent involvement which is a plus.