DS is going to prek twice a week for now and had just started this week. I have no experience with what is and what is not "normal" for preschools. Does your child's preschool have communication logs? Ours doesn't and I wish they did. DS just turned 3 and still isn't talking much or too clearly ( hoping prek helps! :P) so I was hoping for something that would tell me about his day. They mentioned a newsletter but I didn't see any. Also, the doors were open at drop off and pick up. We walked in and to his room without running into any staff which seems unsafe. I don't know if they lock them afterwards ' I am going to ask about this tomorrow. Staff didn't seem too interested in talking with us or anything which seemed odd, but maybe my expectations were just too off 
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Did you not have an orientation or open house before starting? I would think most of these questions would have been answered at that time. You should certainly pull a teacher aside and ask about the security issue. My school has the door locked at all times, it's never propped open. Our school also has marker boards outside each classroom recounting the activities of the day but I rarely have a chance to study them. I would certainly make your concerns known to someone, they can't change something they don't notice is a problem.
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We did have an open house, but it was very chaotic. Admittedly, I was nervous and forgot every question I wanted to ask! I've been writing them down since
I know they have a key pad and someone mentioned about having a double door buzzing system, but I don't know why that isn't being utilized. Definitely asking! I'll have to look around his room - I felt pretty awkward and the teacher didn't offer much information up or seem talkative, or any other staff. I want to get him there in time for breakfast tomorrow, so I think I'll head in a little early so I can stay to talk with his teacher about these things! 
I'm so nervous about leaving him, but I'm trying not to come off as the neurotic parent
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Ours doesn't do any logs but we can chat with the teachers at drop off/pick up or email/schedule a meeting. The teachers usually send home a letter each month detailing things the class has done and will soon do. Also our school is always locked, we bring the kids to their classes and the teachers greet us.
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LO's preschool schedules an in home visit to introduce themselves to the kids. A week later there is a classroom visit with parents for the kids to check out their new school. Prior to school starting, these two visits were so valuable. I addressed concerns I had in regards to my LO and received a lot of feedback. There is no communication log, but I do see the teachers at drop off and pick up. I address any concerns I may have at those times. I've had one teacher who would give me a few sentence summary of his day at pick up -- usually short, simple and to the point.
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My son has just moved from toddler to preschool (2.5) and this is the first time they don't have logs and it makes me sad. I loved getting the papers telling me about his day! But I would be concerned about the doors being open and not seeing any staff.
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I am sorry to hear that but wow.... is it more a daycare / school thing? We switched from a daycare/school to a real school that goes up to 8th grade. We love both of them... for our old daycare/school, not only do they have daily communication emails, they told us how much did he nap, how much and what did he eat, a general outline of what they learned that day, and PICTURES! For the new school while there is not exactly daily communication, there is a portal that we log in to check on everything from daily schedules to curriculums to lunch menu .... everything we can think of. Their home room teacher even opened a private instagram account and we get to see pictures from their daily activities. There are so many meetings that honestly I wish there were less! School started 2 weeks and the teacher called me to check in. Both schools are always on lock down. Our old school has a pad where we have to do thumb print recognition in order to go in. Our new school the adminstrator has to buzz us in. Hmm... I hate to say but I honestly would consider switching schools (the "anyone can walk in without talking to anybody" would be a deal breaker for me for sure) but yes I would ask them about their thoughts.
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My LO just transferred from the toddler room to the preschool at our daycare. We used to get logs every day but now we do not. We still get pictures or videos emailed occasionally, but not the daily list of food/toileting/naps that I was used to. However, they gave me a sheet with a "typical" daily schedule to reference so perhaps you could request something like that. We also get one email each week with the basic curriculum for the week (like which letter they will be working on) and a monthly calendar each month.
In terms of security, our case is a little different because we are in the middle of a busy city street so they actually require us to knock on the door and only open it for parents. When we were on the toddler side, we had one door code to get into the main building and another code to get into her classroom. I would probably ask about the security. Maybe they just left the doors open for the first week to make things easier for parents. But I wouldn't want my child there if they left the doors open all the time.
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There isn't a formal daily communication log like there was at daycare. They just give me a very quick update at pick-up: Good day/hard day, no potty accidents.
They do have an internal communication website that has weekly updates on what they learned that week and the teacher will write a short note about how LO's week was. They also send out a weekly newsletter for her classroom with more info but it is not specific to LO.
There is a code for the door at LO's school but sometimes parents hold the door for each other during drop off and pick up so it's not the most secure.
I think it is often hard for teachers to talk to parents at drop off and pick up so maybe ask for a time to check in that works well for them?
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We don't even talk to the teachers every day but they are receptive if we have concerns. We can also email them which is sometimes better because they are so busy during pick up/drop off. The school also has a blog so we see stuff from her room on there periodically. We have open house coming up as well as conferences. The school is set up soothe yard is in the middle like a courtyard, so I usually see teachers walking in, and we pass the front office too, but I personally wouldn't be worried about it as long as the teachers are in the room with the kids. They probably don't have the staff with ratio/staff requirements to have someone else in the main areas. (Or maybe I'm understanding that wrong.)
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We've now been in 3 different daycares/preschools and everyone is a little different.
All of them have had pretty tight security - different systems, but all of them required us to buzz or have a code to get in.
In terms of daily logs, we got a more detailed log (feeding, napping, diapers) from his daycare 6months-15months, then just a diaper log until 2 when we switched the first time. They weren't great about telling us how his day was otherwise though. At his second preschool we didn't get any logs but would get texts with pictures during the day and the teachers were VERY communicative at pick up and drop off.
We just moved and started at a new preschool yesterday and I got a daily report email with a picture! It was awesome!
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We get very little communication.
Two weeks ago we walked in, my daughter in her water play clothes and the teacher says, "Oh water play ended last week." I was like - thanks for letting us know...(no, I didn't really say that).
Our school is lacking big time in communication. If you don't see the teacher, you are screwed. I'm so screwed for her 4 year old class - that teacher doesn't get in until after I drop her off.
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We don't get daily reports sent home from our preschool. I usually ask her teachers how her day went when I pick her up. They also have a behavior chart in the room. Each kid's name is on a clothespin and they all start on green and move up colors for good choices and down colors for poor choices. So I always glance at where LO's clothespin is at the end of the day and that gives me a general idea of how she did.
The lack of staff and open doors would really bother me, though.
I know they have a key pad and someone mentioned about having a double door buzzing system, but I don't know why that isn't being utilized. Definitely asking! I'll have to look around his room - I felt pretty awkward and the teacher didn't offer much information up or seem talkative, or any other staff. I want to get him there in time for breakfast tomorrow, so I think I'll head in a little early so I can stay to talk with his teacher about these things! 
I'm so nervous about leaving him, but I'm trying not to come off as the neurotic parent
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