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We do part time preschool M,W,F from 9-12, for my 4yo.... Some things we asked about:

Potty accidents (luckily LO was fully trained when we started, but nice to know how they handle accidents for sure!)

Snacks/Lunch - if they do it, do they provide, what to pack

Naps? if you do a longer day, some places do this

Outdoor time - this was big for us, we wanted to make sure LO go outside a lot, we chose a nature preschool which does half of their days outdoors (weather permitting)

'Curriculum' - how are the days structured, what fine & gross motor skills are they working on, how preparing the kids for K, etc. Some schools we looked at were more school focused doing early math/science, and some were more play/social focused... all depends on whats important for you at this age

Pickup/drop off ... I like to know what the procedure is, how long it will take, can i be late? what happens

Sick policy -- these are pretty much all the same, but good to ask

Vacation schedule... We had to factor in when choosing M,W,F, that the majority of holidays fall on a Monday, so you miss out on class those days.

Hmm... can't think of anything else...

Also- if it's part time, is it always the same kids in the class like my daughters preschool you can do MWF or TTh, so her class is always the same. Other friends have a more flexible schedule so the kids changed based on the day, but she has flexibility to add a day or take one away if she wants, or switch the days she goes. Pluses and minuses to both but worth thinking about.

Do you work at all? If so, I would ask how flexible they are if you need to occasionally change your schedule. Our preschool has been really good about me swapping days and not charging me for an extra day which has been a really nice surprise!

How do they feel about messy play? I love that my kids can go to preschool and get messy so I don't have to at home...

Do they encourage you to interact with the teachers at pickup and drop off? I love being able to chat with the teachers and have never felt pressured to get the kids in and out.

The biggest tells for me about the quality of a preschool is the general vibe (does it fele chaotic? do the teachers seem stressed?) and the art they display. If the art looks like the teachers did it and/or forced a kid to sit still and make a craft it is a definite no to me because it sends me the signal that the teachers dont understand child development. If the art on the walls looks like kids got ahold of the craft cabinet and did their own thing, that is what I am looking for. Process art for the win.

This of course is in addition to ratios, safety, cleanliness, etc.

Who has access to the school? What are the stranger safety procedures?

What is the toileting policy? How many sets of eyes are in the bathroom, who are these people, how involved do they get when helping your child wipe or cleaning accidents?

For outdoor time, what is the sunscreen policy? Which products do they use?do they apply after faces are wiped?

What is the sick policy?

How involved are the parents?

One thing that's kinda random, but I would ask about, is whether you could get a copy/email of whatever parent communications the school (and the individual teachers for your LOs age) used that week/month/etc.

I think school-wide newsletters can give you a good vibe for the place, the administration, and usually include some pictures of the kids doing their activities without parents or guests around.

And I think the individual teachers' communications (usually at least monthly, if not weekly or more often) will give you a better sense of how they actually implement whatever curriculum they are touting (e.g., play-based, more academic, true NAEYC, etc), as well as a feel for how engaged and "good" (for lack of a better word?) each teacher (or the school as a whole) is. For example, one preschool my DD1 attended linked to all of the different teacher's monthly newsletters, and my DD1s teacher's was by far the worst -- it was basically just a word doc and didn't show much planning for their activities, just a list of topics. Now, I don't think that necessarily means teachers who do that are bad, but just that they aren't going above and beyond, and it looks especially bad if some/all of the other teachers are! Or if one school has awesome ones and another doesn't...that might be telling, too.

I also agree with @mrs. lion: about the art. It's definitely a sign whether the teacher(s) understand and appreciate development and age-appropriate activities!

I would get a good understanding of the schedule, do they follow a town school closure calendar? What is offered in the summer, is there any kind of preferred sign up for the next year in terms of time slots?